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.  D^AUVERGNE 


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LOLA    MONTEZ 


UNIFORM  LIBRARY  EDITION  OF  THE  WORKS  OF 

GUY    DE    MAUPASSANT,    newly    translated    into 
English  by  Marjorie  Laurie. 

Volume  1.    BEL-AMI. 

"  Bel- Ami  "  is  an  extraordinarily  fine  full-length 
portrait  of  an  unscrupulous  rascal  who  exploits  his 
success  with  women  for  the  furtherance  of  his  ambi- 
tions. The  book  simmers  with  humorous  observa- 
tions, and,  as  a  satire  on  politics  and  journalism,  is 
no  less  biting  because  it  is  not  bitter. 

Volume  2.    A  LIFE. 

This  story  of  a  woman's  life,  harrowed  first  by  the 
faithlessness  of  her  husband  and  later  by  the  worth- 
lessness  of  her  son,  has  been  described  as  one  of  the 
saddest  books  that  has  ever  been  written ;  it  is 
remoi'seless  in  its  utter  truthfulness. 

Volume  3.  "  BOULE  DE  SUIF  "  and  other  Short  Stories. 
A  story  of  the  part  played  by  a  little  French 
prostitute  in  an  incident  of  the  war  of  1870.  It  was 
published  in  a  collection  of  tales  by  distinguished 
French  writers  of  the  day,  and  was  so  clearly  the  gem 
of  the  collection  that  it  established  the  Author  at 
once  as  a  master. 

Volume  4.    THE  HOUSE  OF  TELLIER. 


LOLA  MONTEZ, 
Countess  of   Landsfeld. 


LOLA    MONTEZ 


AN  ADVENTURESS  OF  THE  'FORTIES 


BY 

EDMUND  B.   D'AUVERGNE 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 
BRENTANO'S 

PUBLISHERS 


Printed  in  Great  Britain  by 
Fox,  Jones  &  Co.,  at  the  Keiytp  Hall  Press,  Oxford,  England 


PREFACE 

The  story  of  a  brave  and  beautiful  woman,  whose  fame 
filled  Europe  and  America  within  the  memory  of  our 
parents,  seems  to  be  worth  telling.  The  human  note 
in  history  is  never  more  thrilling  than  when  it  is  struck 
in  the  key  of  love.  In  what  were  perhaps  more  virile 
ages,  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  frankly  acknowledged 
the  irresistible  power  of  passion  and  the  supreme  desir- 
ability of  beauty.  Their  followers  thought  none  the 
less  of  them  for  being  sons  of  Adam.  Lola  Montez 
was  the  last  of  that  long  and  illustrious  line  of  women, 
reaching  back  beyond  Cleopatra  and  Aspasia,  before 
whom  kings  bent  in  homage,  and  by  whose  personality 
they  openly  confess  themselves  to  be  swayed.  Since 
her  time  man  has  thrown  off  the  spell  of  woman's 
beauty,  and  seems  to  dread  still  more  the  competition 
of  her  intellect. 

Lola  Montez,  some  think,  came  a  century  too  late  ; 
"  in  the  eighteenth  century,"  said  Claudin,  "  she  would 
have  played  a  great  part."  The  part  she  played  was, 
at  all  events,  stirring  and  strange  enough.  The 
most  spiritually  and  aesthetically  minded  sovereign  in 

v 


Preface 

Europe  worshipped  her  as  a  goddess ;  geniuses  of 
coarser  fibre,  such  as  Dumas,  sought  her  society.  She 
associated  with  the  most  highly  gifted  men  of  her  time. 
Equipped  only  with  the  education  of  a  pre- Victorian 
schoolgirl,  she  overthrew  the  ablest  plotters  and 
intriguers  in  Europe,  foiled  the  policy  of  Metternich, 
and  hoisted  the  standard  of  freedom  in  the  very  strong- 
hold of  Ultramontane  and  reactionary  Germany. 

Driven  forth  by  a  revolution,  she  wandered  over  the 
whole  world,  astonishing  Society  by  her  masculine 
courage,  her  adaptability  to  all  circumstances  and 
surroundings.  She  who  had  thwarted  old  Europe's 
skilled  diplomatists,  knew  how  to  horsewhip  and  to  cow 
the  bullies  of  young  Australia's  mining  camps.  An 
indifferent  actress,  her  beauty  and  sheer  force  of  character 
drew  thousands  to  gaze  at  her  in  every  land  she  trod. 
So  she  flashed  like  a  meteor  from  continent  to  continent, 
heard  of  now  at  St.  Petersburg,  now  at  New  York,  now 
at  San  Francisco,  now  at  Sydney.  She  crammed 
enough  experience  into  a  career  of  forty-two  years  to 
have  surfeited  a  centenarian.  She  had  her  moments 
of  supreme  exaltation,  of  exquisite  felicity.  Her 
vicissitudes  were  glorious  and  sordid.  She  v/as  presented 
by  a  king  to  his  whole  court  as  his  best  friend  ;  she  was 
dragged  to  a  London  police-station  on  a  charge  of 
felony.     But  in  prosperity  she  never  lost  her  head,  and 

in  adversity  she  never  lost  her  courage. 

vi 


Preface 

A  splendid  animal,  always  doing  what  she  wished  to 
do  ;  a  natural  pagan  in  her  delight  in  life  and  love  and 
danger — she  cherished  all  her  life  an  unaccountable 
fondness  for  the  most  conventional  puritanical  forms  of 
Christianity,  dying  at  last  in  the  bosom  of  the  Protestant 
Church,  with  sentiments  of  self-abasement  and  con- 
trition that  would  have  done  credit  to  a  Magdalen  or 
Pelagia. 

In  my  sympathy  with  this  fascinating  woman,  it  is 
possible  that  I  have  exaggerated  the  importance  of  her 
role  ;  probable,  also,  that  I  have  digressed  too  freely 
into  reflections  on  her  motives  and  on  the  forces  with 
which  she  had  to  contend.  Those  who  prefer  a  bare 
recital  of  the  facts  of  her  career,  I  refer  at  once  to  the 
admirable  epitome  to  be  found  in  the  "  Dictionary  of 
National  Biography."  Here  I  have  not  hesitated  to 
include  all  that  seemed  to  me  to  throw  light  on  the 
subject  of  my  sketch,  on  the  people  around  her,  and  on 
the  influences  that  shaped  her  destiny. 

Edmund  B.  d'Auvergne. 


Vll 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.    CHILDHOOD I 

II.   A  RUNAWAY  MATCH II 

III.  FIRST  STEPS  IN  MATRIMONY     .          .          .          .  I7 

IV.  INDIA  SEVENTY  YEARS  AGO     ....  21 
V.    RIVEN   BONDS              3I 

VI.    LONDON  IN  THE  'FORTIES          ....  39 

VII.   WANDERJAHRE 47 

VIII.   FRANZ  LISZT 59 

IX.   AT  THE  BANQUET  OF  THE  IMMORTALS     .          .  65 

X.   UtRY 75 

XI.    DUJARIER 79 

XII.   THE  SUPPER  AT  THE  FRERES  PROVEN9AUX    .  83 

XIII.  THE  CHALLENGE 87 

XIV.  THE  DUEL 95 

XV.   THE  RECKONING lOI 

XVI.    IN  QUEST  OF  A  PRINCE IO7 

XVII.   THE  KING  OF  BAVARIA Ill 

XVIII.    REACTION  IN  BAVARIA 121 

XIX.   THE  ENTHRALMENT  OF  THE  KING              .          .  125 

XX.   THE  ABEL  MEMORANDUM           ....  I35 

XXI.   THE  INDISCRETIONS  OF  A  MONARCH         .          .  I43 

ix 


Contents 

CHAP.  PAGE 

XXII.    THE  MINISTRY  OF  GOOD  HOPE           .          .          .  I49 

XXIII,  THE  UNCROWNED  QUEEN  OF  BAVARIA    .          .  I57 

XXIV.  THE  DOWNFALL 163 

XXV.    THE  RISING  OF  THE  PEOPLES   ....  I73 

XXVI.    LOLA  IN  SEARCH  OF  A  HOME     ....  I77 

XXVII.   A  SECOND  EXPERIMENT  IN  MATRIMONY           .  181 

XXVIII.    WESTWARD  HO  ! I93 

XXIX.   IN  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  ARGONAUTS            .          .  I99 

XXX.   IN  AUSTRALIA              205 

XXXI.    LOLA  AS  A  LECTURER 213 

XXXII.    A  LAST  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND         ....  2I9 

XXXIII.   THE  MAGDALEN 223 

XXXIV.  LAST  SCENE  OF  ALL             .....  227 

SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION        ....  234 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


LOLA  MONTEZ,  COUNTESS  OF  LANDSFELD    .    Frontispiece 
NICHOLAS  I To  face  page  54 

FRANZ  LISZT ..  6o 


ALEXANDRE  DUMAS,  SENIOR 

LOUIS  OF  BAVARIA,  WHEN  ELECTORAL  PRINCE 

LOUIS  I,  KING  OF  BAVARIA      . 

LOLA  MONTEZ  (AFTER  JULES  LAURE)     . 


70 

112 
144 
194 


XI 


LOLA  MONTEZ 

AN  ADVENTURESS  OF  THE  'FORTIES 


CHILDHOOD 


The  year  1818  was,  on  the  whole,  a  good  starting-point 
in  life  for  people  with  a  taste  and  capacity  for  adventure. 
This  was  not  suspected  by  those  already  born.  They 
looked  forward,  after  the  tempest  that  had  so  lately 
ravaged  Europe,  to  a  golden  age  of  slippered  ease  and 
general  stagnation.  The  volcanoes,  they  hoped,  were 
all  spent.  "  We  have  slumbered  seven  years,  let  us 
forget  this  ugly  dream,"  complacently  observed  a 
German  prince  on  resuming  possession  of  his  dominions  ; 
and  "  the  old,  blind,  mad,  despised,  and  dying  king's  " 
worthy  regent  expressed  the  same  confidence  when  he 
gave  the  motto,  "  A  sign  of  better  times,"  to  an  order 
founded  in  this  particular  year.  Yet  the  child  that  thus 
with  royal  encouragement  began  life  in  England  at  that 
time  learned  before  he  could  toddle  to  tremble  at  the 
mysterious  name  of  "  Boney,"  and  later  on  would  thrill 
with  fear,  delight,  and  horror  at  his  nurse's  recital  of 

I 


Lola  Montez 

the  atrocities  and  final  glorious  undoing  of  that  terrific 
ogre.  Presently  he  would  meet  in  his  walks  abroad, 
red-coated,  bewhiskered  veterans  who  had  met  the 
monster  face  to  face  (or  said  they  had)  ;  who  would 
recount  stories  of  decapitated  kings,  dreadful  uprisings, 
and  threatened  invasions  ;  who  had  lost  a  leg  or  an  arm 
or  an  eye  at  Waterloo  or  Salamanca  ;  which  victories 
(they  assured  him)  were  mainly  due  to  their  individual 
valour  and  generalship.  As  the  child  grew  older  he 
would  begin  to  make  a  coherent  story  out  of  these 
strange  happenings  :  he  would  realise  through  what  a 
period  of  storm  and  stress  the  world  had  passed  imme- 
diately before  his  advent.  He  would  listen  eagerly  at 
his  father's  table  to  more  trustworthy  relations  of  the 
great  battles  by  men  whose  share  in  them  his  country 
was  proud  to  acknowledge.  Waterloo,  Trafalgar,  the 
Nile,  would  be  fought  over  again  in  the  school  play- 
ground. For  the  best  part  of  his  life  he  might  expect  to 
have  as  contemporaries,  men  who  had  seen  Napoleon 
with  their  own  eyes,  and  shaken  Nelson  by  his  one  hand 
— men  who  had  seen  thrones  that  seemed  as  stable  as 
the  everlasting  hills  come  crashing  down,  to  be  pieced 
together  with  a  cement  of  blood  and  gunpowder.  How 
often  the  boy,  or,  as  in  this  particular  case,  the  girl, 
must  have  longed  for  a  recurrence  of  those  brave  days, 
and  deprecated  the  peaceful  present.  But  for  him  (or 
her)  far  more  amazing  things  were  in  store.  His  it  was 
to  see  society  emerge  from  its  worn-out  feudal  chrysalis, 
and  to  take  the  path  which  may  yet  lead  to  civilisation. 
Those  born  in  1818  could  have  the  delightful  distinction 
of  being  carried  in  the  first  railway  train,  of  sending  the 
first  "  wire,"  of  boarding  the  first  "  penny  'bus."  Born 
in  the  age  of  the  coach  and  the  hoy,  they  would  die  in 


Childhood 

the  era  of  the  locomotive  and  mail  steamer.  Theirs 
was  an  age  of  transition  indeed,  most  curious  to  watch, 
most  thrilling  to  traverse.  And — most  valuable 
privilege  of  all  to  those  that  loved  to  play  a  part  in  great 
affairs — they  would  be  in  good  time  to  assist  at  the 
widest  spread  and  most  terrific  upheaval  Europe  had 
known  since  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  To 
have  been  thirty  years  of  age  in  that  year  of  years,  1848  ! 
Those  who  witnessed  the  great  drama  must  have  felt 
that  to  have  come  into  the  world  more  than  three 
decades  before  would  have  been  a  mistake  the  most 
grievous. 

Among  the  children  fortunate  enough,  then,  to  be 
born  when  the  nineteenth  century  was  in  its  eighteenth 
year  was  the  heroine  of  our  history.  Limerick,  the  city 
of  the  broken  treaty,  was  her  birthplace,  Maria  Dolores 
Eliza  Rosanna  the  names  bestowed  upon  her  in  baptism. 
Only  a  year  before  (on  3rd  July  1817)  her  father,  Edward 
Gilbert,  had  been  gazetted  an  ensign  in  the  old  25th 
regiment  of  the  line,  now  the  King's  Own  Scottish 
Borderers.  He  may  have  been,  as  his  daughter  and 
only  child  afterwards  claimed,  the  scion  of  a  knightly 
house,  but  he  could  boast  a  far  more  honourable  dis- 
tinction— that  he  rose  from  the  ranks  and  earned  his 
commission  by  valour  and  good  conduct  in  the  long 
Napoleonic  wars.^  Promotion  it  was,  perhaps,  that 
emboldened  him  to  marry  in  the  same  year.  His  wife 
was  a  girl  of  surpassing  beauty,  a  Miss  Oliver,  of  Castle 
Oliver,  wherever  that  may  be,  and  a  descendant  of  the 
Count  de  Montalvo,  a  Spanish  grandee,  who  had  lost  his 
immense  estates  in  the  wars.     The  ancestors  of  this 

^  Historical  Record  of  the  44th,  or  East  Essex  Regiment  (1864), 
by  Thomas  Carter,  of  the  Adjutant-General's  Office. 

3 


Lola  Montez 

unfortunate  noble  (we  are  told)  were  Moors,  and  came 
into  Spain  in  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  which 
was  certainly  the  worst  possible  moment  they  could 
have  chosen  for  so  doing.  For  this  account  of  Mrs. 
Gilbert's  ancestry  we  are  indebted  to  her  daughter, 
whose  names  certainly  suggest  a  Spanish  origin.  It  was 
by  her  mournful  second  name,  or  rather  by  its  lightsome 
diminutive,  Lola,  that  she  was  ever  afterwards  known. 
Perhaps  she  was  so  called  in  remembrance  of  one  of  the 
proud  Montalvos.  At  all  events,  she  never  ceased  to 
cherish  the  belief  in  her  half-Spanish  blood.  When  she 
was  a  romantic  young  girl — for  young  girls  were  romantic 
seventy  years  ago — Spain  obsessed  the  Byronic  caste  of 
mind.  It  was  regarded  as  the  home  of  chivalry,  romance, 
love,  poetry,  and  adventure.  To  be  ever  so  little 
Spanish  was  accounted  a  most  enviable  distinction. 
So  it  would  be  ungenerous  of  us  to  impugn  Lola's  claim 
to  what  she  and  her  contemporaries  considered  an 
inestimable  privilege.  True  or  false,  the  idea  was  one 
she  imbibed  with  her  mother's  milk — though  I  forgot 
to  say  that,  according  to  her  own  statement,  she  was 
nourished  at  this  early  period  by  an  Irish  nurse.  I 
wish  I  could  say  in  what  rehgion  the  new  daughter  of 
the  regiment  was  educated.  Somewhere  she  says  that 
her  mother  eloped  with  her  father  from  a  convent.  The 
strong  dislike  she  manifested  in  after  years  for  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  may  have  been  inspired  by  this 
circumstance,  and  suggests,  at  any  rate,  in  one  not 
keenly  sensible  of  nice  theological  distinctions,  some 
personal  motive  arising  from  a  bitter  experience. 

If  the  baby  Lola  gave  promise  of  the  woman,  Edward 
Gilbert  must  have  been  proud  of  his  child — as  proud 
of  her  as  of  his  pretty  wife  and  his  hard- won  commission. 

4 


Childhood 

But  those  years  in  troubled  Ireland  must  have  been 
anxious  ones  for  him.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he 
possessed  private  means,  and  to  support  a  wife  and 
child  on  the  pay  of  an  ensign  in  a  marching  regiment 
would  necessitate  economies  of  the  most  painful  des- 
cription. In  the  East,  now  that  Europe  was  at  peace, 
lay  the  only  hope  of  immediately  increased  pay  and 
rapid  promotion.  The  establishment  of  the  King's  Own 
Scottish  Borderers  was  reduced,  in  August  1822,  from  ten 
to  eight  companies,  and  Gilbert  was  able  to  obtain,  in 
consequence,  a  transfer  to  the  44th  of  the  line,  already 
under  orders  for  India.  His  appointment  to  his  new 
regiment — now  the  first  battalion  Essex  regiment — 
is  dated  loth  October  1822.  With  his  young  wife  and 
child  he  embarked,  accordingly,  for  the  land  of  promise. 
Probably  the  four-year-old  Lola  endured  best  of  the 
three  the  unspeakable  fatigue  and  tedium  of  that  long, 
long  journey  round  the  Cape — a  voyage  which  in  those 
days  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  prolong  by  a  call  at 
Rio  de  Janeiro.  It  was  not  till  four  months  had  been 
passed  at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  wave  that  our  weary 
travellers  set  foot  in  Calcutta. 

The  regiment  was  stationed  at  Fort  William,  and 
there  the  ensign's  hopes  of  speedy  advancement  early 
received  encouragement.  At  one  time  seventeen  of  his 
brother  officers  lay  sick  with  the  fever,  and  before  six 
months  had  fled,  the  last  post  was  sounded  over  the 
graves  of  Major  Guthrie,  Captain  O'Reilly,  and  Lieu- 
tenants Twinberrow  and  Sargent.  The  unspoken 
question  on  every  one's  lips  was,  Whose  turn  next  ? 
In  this  Indian  pest-house  there  must  have  been  moments 
when  the  young  mother,  fearful  for  her  husband  and 
child,  longed  fiercely  for  the  rain-drenched  streets  of 

5 


Lola  Montez 

Limerick.  At  last  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Dinapore. 
The  journey  was  effected,  as  was  usual  in  those  days, 
by  water,  an  element  to  which  the  Gilberts  were  now 
w'ell  accustomed.  But  here,  instead  of  the  monotonous 
expanse  of  ocean,  they  had  slowly  unfolded  before  them 
the  strange  and  brightly-coloured  panorama  of  the 
East — gorgeous,  teeming  cities,  the  dreadful,  burning 
ghats,  rank  jungle,  dense  forests,  rich  rice-fields.  As  the 
flotilla  travelled  only  12  or  14  miles  a  day,  the  passengers 
had  ample  time  to  stretch  their  limbs  ashore,  and  to 
visit  the  towns  and  villages  passed  en  route.  The 
voyage,  too,  did  not  lack  incident.  On  one  occasion 
nine  boats  were  swamped,  and  eight  British  redcoats 
went  to  swell  the  horrible  procession  of  corpses  which 
floats  ever  seaward  down  the  Sacred  River.  Another 
night  the  Colonel's  boat  took  fire,  and  the  flames, 
spreading  to  other  vessels,  consumed  the  regimental 
band's  music  and  instruments,  which  were  so  sorely 
needed  to  revive  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  fever-stricken 
troops. 

However,  in  the  excitement  of  taking  up  their  new 
quarters  at  Dinapore,  these  evil  omens  were,  no  doubt, 
forgotten.  Pretty  women  were  rare  in  India  in  those 
days,  and  Mrs.  Gilbert  received  (from  the  men,  at  all 
events)  a  right  royal  welcome.  She  was  acclaimed 
queen  of  the  station,  and,  as  her  husband,  the  Ensign, 
became,  of  course,  a  person  of  consequence.  This 
was  better  than  Ireland,  after  all.  Dinapore  was  a 
fairly  lively  spot,  and  regimental  society  was  not  over- 
shadowed, as  at  Calcutta,  by  the  magnates  of  Govern- 
ment House.  So  Lola's  mother  flirted  and  danced, 
while  Lola  herself  was  petted  by  grey-haired  generals 
and  callow  subs.,  and  Lola's  father  began  to  dream  of  a 

6 


Childhood 

captaincy.  One  day,  in  the  early  part  of  1824,  his 
place  at  the  mess-table  was  vacant.  The  doctor  looked 
in,  and  said  "  Cholera,"  and  a  few  faces  blanched. 
Craigie,  the  Ensign's  best  friend,  hurried  to  his  bedside. 
The  dying  man  was  speechless,  but  conscious.  Beckon- 
ing to  his  friend,  he  placed  his  weeping  wife's  hand  in 
his,  and,  having  thus  conveyed  his  last  wish,  died. 

Lola  was  left  fatherless  before  she  was  seven  years 
old.  She  and  her  mother,  she  tells  us,  were  promptly 
taken  charge  of  by  the  wife  of  General  Brown. 

"  The  hearts  of  a  hundred  officers,  young  and  old, 
beat  all  at  once  with  such  violence,  that  the  whole 
atmosphere  for  ten  miles  round  fairly  throbbed  with 
the  emotion.  But  in  this  instance  the  general  fever 
did  not  last  long,  for  Captain  Craigie  led  the  young 
widow  Gilbert  to  the  altar  himself.  He  was  a  man  of 
high  intellectual  accomplishments,  and  soon  after  this 
marriage  his  regiment  was  ordered  back  to  Calcutta, 
and  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  major." 

We  are  thus  able  to  identify  Lola's  stepfather  with 
John  Craigie  of  the  Bengal  Army,  who  was  gazetted 
Captain  on  nth  May  1816,  and  Major,  18th  May  1825. 
Four  years  later  he  attained  the  rank  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel.^  He  seems  to  have  been  a  generous,  warm- 
hearted man,  who  never  forgot  the  trust  placed  in  him 
by  his  dying  friend  at  Dinapore.  To  him  Lola  was 
indebted  for  such  education  as  she  received  in  India. 
That  was  not  of  a  very  thorough  character.  With  a 
mother  who,  we  learn,  was  passionately  fond  of  society 
and  amusement,  little  Miss  Gilbert  must  have  passed 
most  of  her  time  in  the  company  of  ayahs  and  orderlies, 

^  Dodwell  and  Miles,  Indian  Army  List,  1760-1834. 

7 


Lola  Montez 

picking  up  the  native  tongue  with  the  facility  which 
distinguished  her  in  after  hfe,  and  domineering  tre- 
mendously over  idolatrous  sepoys  and  dignified  khan- 
samahs.  I  can  imagine  her  on  the  knees  of  veterans  at 
her  father's  table,  delighting  them  with  her  beauty, 
and  still  more  with  her  boldness  and  childish  ready  wit. 
Of  course.  His  Excellency  (Lord  William  Bentinck) 
would  take  notice  of  the  pretty,  pert  child  of  handsome 
Mrs.  Craigie,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  all 
her  life  she  should  hanker  after  the  atmosphere  of  a 
court,  remembering  the  vice-regal  glories  at  Calcutta. 

It  seems  to  have  dawned  upon  Mrs.  Craigie,  not  very 
long  after  her  second  marriage,  that  her  daughter  was, 
to  use  a  common  expression,  running  wild.  A  little 
discipline,  it  was  felt,  would  do  her  good.  It  was 
decided  to  send  her  home  to  her  stepfather's  relatives 
at  Montrose.  With  screams,  sobs,  and  wild  protests, 
the  eight-year-old  girl  accordingly  found  herself  torn 
from  the  redcoats  and  brown  faces  that  she  loved, 
once  more  to  undertake  that  terrible  four  months' 
journey  to  a  land  which  she  had  probably  completely 
forgotten. 

The  contrast  between  Calcutta,  the  gorgeous  city  of 
palaces,  and  Montrose,  the  dour,  wintry  burgh  among 
the  sandhills  by  the  northern  sea,  must  have  chilled  the 
heart  of  the  passionate  child.  Yet  she  does  not  seem  in 
after  life  to  have  thought  with  any  bitterness  of  the 
place,  and  speaks  with  respect,  if  not  affection,  of  her 
new  guardian.  Major  Craigie's  father.     She  writes  : — 


"  This  venerable  man  had  been  provost  of  Montrose 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  the  dignity  of 
his  profession,   as  well  as  the  great  respectability  of 

8 


Childhood 

his  family,  made  every  event  connected  with  his  house- 
hold a  matter  of  some  public  note,  and  the  arrival  of 
the  queer,  wayward,  little  East  Indian  girl  was  imme- 
diately known  to  all  Montrose.  The  peculiarity  of  her 
dress,  and  I  dare  say  not  a  little  eccentricitj^  in  her 
manners,  served  to  make  her  an  object  of  curiosity 
and  remark  ;  and  very  likely  she  perceived  that  she 
was  somewhat  of  a  public  character,  and  may  have 
begun,  even  at  this  early  age,  to  assume  airs  and 
customs  of  her  own." 


That  is,  indeed,  very  likely.  Further  information 
concerning  our  heroine's  stay  at  Montrose  we  have 
little.  She  does  not  seem  to  have  retained  any  very 
vivid  impressions  of  her  childhood.  One  of  the  few 
events  in  the  meagre  history  of  the  little  Scots  town  she 
was  privileged  to  witness — the  erection  of  the  suspension 
bridge  from  Inchbrayock  over  the  Esk.  Here  it  was, 
too,  that  she  formed  that  friendship  with  the  girl, 
afterwards  Mrs.  Buchanan,  which  was  destined  to  form 
her  greatest  consolation  in  the  evening  of  her  days. 
The  Craigies  were  strict  Calvinists,  and  some  of  her 
biographers  have  assumed,  in  consequence,  that  they 
must  have  treated  the  child  with  rigour  and  inspired 
her  with  a  distaste  for  religion.  She  never  said  so,  as 
far  as  I  can  ascertain.  On  the  contrary,  throughout  her 
life  she  evinced  a  marked  bias  in  favour  of  Protestantism, 
which  is  quite  as  compatible  with  an  erotic  temperament 
as  was  the  zeal  for  Catholicism  displayed  by  the  favourite 
mistress  of  Charles  II. 

Her  parents,  says  Lola,  being  somehow  impressed  with 
the  idea  that  she  was  being  petted  and  spoiled  (by  the 
gloomy  Calvinists  aforesaid),  she  was  removed  to  the 
family  of  Sir  Jasper  Nicolls,  of  London.     It  is  to  be 

9 


Lola  Montez 

observed  that  neither  now  nor  after  do  we  hear  of  her 
father's  relatives,  who  one  would  suppose  to  have  been 
her  proper  guardians.  This  circumstance  certainly 
discountenances  the  theory  of  Edward  Gilbert's  exalted 
parentage.  Sir  Jasper  Nicolls,  K.C.B.,  Major-General, 
was  succeeded  by  Major-General  Watson  in  the  command 
of  the  Meerut  Division  in  1831,  in  which  year  it  may  be 
presumed  he  returned  to  England,  and  took  his  friend 
Craigie's  stepdaughter  under  his  wing.  Like  most 
Indian  officers,  he  preferred  to  spend  his  pension  out  of 
England,  and  gladly  hurried  his  girls  off  to  Paris  to 
complete  their  education,  They  missed  the  July  Revo- 
lution by  a  year  ;  but  all  France  was  presently  ringing 
with  the  exploits  of  the  brave  Duchesse  de  Berry,  who 
became  the  idol  of  the  pensionnats.  To  Lola,  no  doubt, 
she  seemed  a  heroine  worthier  of  imitation  than  the 
young  Princess  Alexandrina  Victoria,  who  was  just  then 
touring  her  uncle's  dominions.  The  romantic  fever 
was  at  its  height  in  Paris.  To  her  schoolfellows  the 
beautiful  Anglo-Indian  girl,  with  her  Spanish  name  and 
ancestry,  must  have  appeared  a  new  edition  of  De 
Musset's  "  Andalouse."  The  influences  about  her  at 
this  time  tended  to  stimulate  all  that  was  romantic 
and  adventurous  in  her  temperament,  and  determined, 
perhaps,  her  action  in  the  first  great  crisis  of  her  life. 


10 


II 


A   RUNAWAY   MATCH 


It  was  now  fifteen  years  since  Mrs.  Craigie  had  visited 
England,  and  rather  more  than  ten  since  she  had  seen 
her  daughter.  She  had  been  made  aware  that  Lola's 
beauty  far  exceeded  the  promise  of  her  childish  years, 
and  this  she  took  care  to  make  known  to  all  the  eligible 
bachelors  of  Bengal.  The  charms  of  the  erstwhile  pet 
of  the  44th  were  eagerly  discussed  by  men  who  had 
never  seen  her.  Lonely  writers  in  up-country  stations 
brooded  on  her  perfections,  as  advertised  by  Mrs.  Craigie, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  she  was  precisely  the 
woman  wanted  to  convert  their  secluded  establishments 
into  homes.  It  was  difficult  to  get  a  wife  of  the  plainest 
description  in  the  India  of  William  IV. 's  day,  and  the 
competition  for  the  hand  of  the  unknown  beauty  oversea 
was  proportionately  keen.  If  marriage  by  proxy  were 
recognised  by  English  law  Lola's  fate  would  have  been 
sealed  long  before  she  was  aware  of  it.  From  a  worldly 
point  of  view  the  most  desirable  of  these  ardent  suitors 
was  Sir  Abraham  Lumley,  whom  our  heroine  unkindly 
describes  as  a  rich  and  gouty  old  rascal  of  sixty  years, 
and  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  India.  We  see  that 
in  that  rude  age  it  was  not  the  custom  to  speak  of 
sexagenarians  as  in  the  prime  of  life.     To  the  venerable 

II 


Lola  Montez 

magistrate  Mrs.  Craigie  promised  her  daughter  in 
marriage.  Remembering  the  hard  times  she  had  gone 
through  with  her  first  husband,  the  penniless  ensign, 
and  forgetting,  as  we  do  when  past  thirty,  how  those 
hardships  were  hghtened  by  iove,  she  no  doubt  felt  that 
she  had  acted  extremely  well  by  her  daughter.  Women's 
ideas  on  the  subject  of  marriage  are  usually  absolutely 
conventional,  and  since  unions  between  men  of  sixty 
and  girls  of  eighteen  are  not  condemned  by  the  official 
exponents  of  religion,  you  would  never  have  persuaded 
Mrs.  Craigie  that  they  were  immoral.  Outside  the 
Decalogue  (and  the  Police  Regulations)  all  things  are 
lawful.  Well  pleased  with  herself,  the  still  handsome 
Anglo-Indian  lady  sailed  for  home  in  the  early  part  of 
the  year  1837,  proposing  to  bring  her  daughter  back 
with  her  to  the  bosom  of  Abraham. 

She  found  Lola  at  Bath,  whither  she  had  been  sent 
from  Paris  with  Fanny  NicoUs  "  to  undergo  the  operation 
of  what  is  properly  called  finishing  their  education." 
I  do  not  suppose  the  meeting  between  mother  and 
daughter  was  especially  cordial,  considering  the  tem- 
perament of  the  former  and  the  long  period  of  separation, 
but  Mrs.  Craigie  was  delighted  to  find  that  report  had 
nowise  exaggerated  the  young  girl's  charms.  This  was 
also  the  private  opinion  of  Mr.  Thomas  James,  a 
lieutenant  in  the  21st  regiment  of  Native  Infantry 
(Bengal),  a  young  officer  who  had  attached  himself  to 
Mrs.  Craigie  on  the  voyage  and  accompanied  her  to 
Bath.  The  mother  thought  him  quite  safe,  as  he  had 
told  her  that  he  was  betrothed,  and  had  consulted  her 
about  his  prospects,  or,  rather,  the  want  of  them.  The 
married  ladies  of  India  have  always  been  full  of  maternal 
solicitude  for  poor  young  subalterns,  who  frequently 

12 


A  Runaway  Match 

repay  their  kindness  with  touching  devotion.  It  was 
probably  the  wish  to  be  useful  to  his  benefactress  that 
had  drawn  Mr.  James  to  Bath.  Or  it  may  have  been 
that  he  wished  to  drink  the  waters,  for  I  forgot  to  say 
that  he  had  been  ill  during  the  voyage,  and  owed  his 
recovery  to  Mrs.  Craigie's  careful  nursing. 

Lola  was  staggered  by  the  kindness  and  liberality  of 
her  mother.  Visits  to  the  milliner's  and  the  dressmaker's 
succeeded  each  other  with  startling  rapidity  ;  jewellery, 
lingerie,  all  sorts  of  delightful  things  were  showered 
upon  her  in  bewildering  profusion.  Lieutenant  James 
was  kept  on  his  legs  all  day,  escorting  the  ladies  to  the 
modistes  and  running  errands  to  Madame  Jupon  and 
Mademoiselle  Euphrosine.  At  last  the  girl  began  to 
suspect  that  there  must  be  some  other  motive  for  this 
excessive  interest  in  her  personal  appearance  than 
maternal  fondness.  She  made  bold  one  day  (she  tells 
us)  to  ask  her  mother  what  this  was  all  about,  and 
received  for  an  answer  that  it  did  not  concern  her — that 
children  should  not  be  inquisitive,  nor  ask  idle  questions. 
(Lola  is  the  only  girl  on  record  who  protested  that  too 
much  money  was  being  spent  on  her  wardrobe.)  Her 
suspicions  naturally  increased  tenfold.  In  her  per- 
plexity she  sought  information  from  the  Lieutenant, 
of  whose  interest  in  her  she  had  probably  become 
conscious.  Then  she  learnt  the  horrible  truth.  The 
wardrobe  so  fast  accumulating  was  her  trousseau,  and 
she  was  the  promised  bride  of  a  man  in  India  old  enough 
to  be  her  grandfather.  For  a  moment  Lola  was  stunned. 
For  a  full-blooded,  passionate  girl  of  eighteen  the 
prospect  was  hideous.  We  may  be  sure,  too,  that  her 
informant  did  not  understate  the  personal  disadvantages 
of  Sir  Abraham  Lumley.     Neither  did  he  neglect  this 

13 


Lola  Montez 

favourable  opportunity  to  declare  his  own  passion  for 
the  proposed  victim,  and  to  press  his  suit.  An  interview 
with  Mrs.  Craigie  followed. 

"  The  little  madcap  cried  and  stormed  alternately. 
The  mother  was  determined — so  was  her  child ;  the 
mother  was  inflexible — so  was  her  child  ;  and  in  the 
wildest  language  of  defiance  she  told  her  that  she  never 
would  be  thus  thrown  alive  into  the  jaws  of  death. 

"  Here,  then,  was  one  of  those  fatal  family  quarrels, 
where  the  child  is  forced  to  disobey  parental  authority, 
or  to  throw  herself  away  into  irredeemable  wretchedness 
and  ruin.  It  is  certainly  a  fearful  responsibility  for  a 
parent  to  assume  of  forcing  a  child  to  such  alternatives. 
But  the  young  Dolores  sought  the  advice  and  assistance 
of  her  mother's  friend.     .     .     ." 


She  was  probably  a  little  in  love  with  that  friend, 
who  was  a  fine-looking  fellow,  about  a  dozen  years  older 
than  herself,  and  who  had  certainly  conceived  a  violent 
passion  for  her.  The  situation  was  conventionally 
romantic.  The  books  of  that  time  were  full  of  distressed 
damsels  being  forced  into  hateful  unions.  Lola,  it  is 
safe  to  say,  relished  her  new  role  of  heroine  not  a  little. 
So  when  her  lover  proposed  a  runaway  match,  she  felt 
that  she  was  bound  to  comply  with  the  usual  stage 
directions.  After  all,  what  could  be  more  delightful  ? 
— an  elopement  in  a  post-chaise  with  a  dashing  young 
officer,  an  angry  mamma  in  pursuit,  and,  happily,  no 
angry  papa,  armed  with  pistols  or  horse-whip. 

Away  they  went.  Lola  has  left  us  no  particulars  of 
the  flight.  The  runaways  reappear,  in  the  first  month  of 
Queen  Victoria's  reign,  in  the  girl's  native  land,  where 
she  was  placed  under  the  protection   of  her  lover's 

14 


A  Runaway  Match 

family.  "  They  had  a  great  muss  [sic]  in  trying  to  get 
married."  Lola  was  under  age,  and  her  mother's 
consent  was  indispensable.  James  sent  his  sister  to 
Bath  to  intercede  with  Mrs.  Craigie.  The  lady  was 
furious.  Not  only  had  her  daughter  upset  her  most 
cherished  project,  but  had  run  off  with  her  most  devoted 
friend  and  admirer.  Mrs.  Craigie  was  a  prey  to  the  most 
mortifying  reflections.  No  doubt  she  asked  Miss  James 
what  had  become  of  the  young  lady  to  whom  her  brother 
had  declared  he  was  affianced.  She  probably  said  some 
very  unkind  things  about  the  Lieutenant.  At  last, 
however,  "  good  sense  so  far  prevailed  as  to  make  her 
see  that  nothing  but  evil  and  sorrow  could  come  of  her 
refusal,  and  she  consented,  but  would  neither  be  present 
at  the  wedding,  nor  send  her  blessing."  We  are 
not  told  if  she  sent  the  voluminous  trousseau,  which  had 
been  the  cause  of  all  the  mischief.  She  returned  soon 
after,  I  gather,  to  India,  to  announce  to  the  unfortunate 
Sir  Abraham  the  collapse  of  his  matrimonial  scheme. 

Miss  James  returned  to  Ireland  with  the  necessary 
authority,  and  Thomas  James,  Lieutenant,  and  Maria 
Dolores  Eliza  Rosanna  Gilbert,  spinster,  were  made  man 
and  wife  in  County  Meath  on  the  23rd  July  1837.  The 
bride's  reflections  on  this  event  are  worth  quoting  : — 

"  So,  in  flying  from  that  marriage  with  ghastly  and 
gouty  old  age,  the  child  lost  her  mother,  and  gained 
what  proved  to  be  only  the  outside  shell  of  a  husband, 
who  had  neither  a  brain  which  she  could  respect,  nor 
a  heart  which  it  was  possible  for  her  to  love.  Runaway 
matches,  like  runaway  horses,  are  almost  sure  to  end 
in  a  smash  up.  My  advice  to  all  young  girls  who 
contemplate  taking  such  a  step  is,  that  they  had  better 
hang  or  drown  themselves  just  one  hour  before  they  start." 

15 


Lola  Montez 

This  warning  was  obviously  intended  to  counteract 
the  dreadful  example  of  the  writer's  subsequent  life  and 
adventures,  and  to  dissuade  ambitious  young  ladies 
from  following  in  her  footsteps.  Lola  did  not,  of  course, 
believe  what  she  said.  Even  "  when  wild  youth's  past  " 
and  the  glamour  of  love  has  worn  thin,  no  sensible 
woman  could  believe  that  she  would  have  got  much 
happiness  out  of  life  if  it  had  been  passed  in  wedlock 
with  a  man  half  a  century  her  senior.  Perhaps,  however, 
Lola  sadly  reflected  that  if  she  had  become  Sir  Abraham's 
wife,  she  would  probably  have  become  his  widow  a  very 
few  years  after. 


i6 


Ill 

FIRST  STEPS  IN   MATRIMONY 

Thus  Lola  found  herself  in  Ireland,  the  wife  of  a  penniless 
subaltern — exactly  the  position  of  her  mother  twenty 
years  before.  "All  for  love -and  the  world  well  lost," 
she  might  have  exclaimed.  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  disillusionment  came  to  her  any  sooner 
than  to  other  hot-headed  and  romantic  young  ladies 
similarly  placed.  She  was  accustomed  to  view  her  early 
married  life  in  the  bitter  light  of  subsequent  experience, 
and  forgot  all  the  sweets  and  raptures  of  first  love. 
Women  of  her  temperament  always  find  it  hard  to 
believe  that  they  ever  really  loved  men  whom  they  have 
since  learned  to  hate.  Even  by  her  own  account,  those 
months  in  Ireland  were  not  altogether  unrelieved  by  the 
glitter  for  which  her  soul  craved.  Her  husband  took 
her  to  Dubhn,  she  informs  us,  and  presented  her  to  the 
Lord-Lieutenant.  His  Excellency  Lord  Norman  by  was 
one  of  the  few  good  rulers  England  has  placed  over 
Ireland,  and  like  most  clever  men,  he  was  an  admirer  of 
pretty  women.  Lola  seems  to  have  been  made  much  of 
by  him.  He  paid  her  many  compliments,  among  others 
this,  "  Women  of  your  age  are  the  queens  of  society  " — 
a  remark  which  may  be  addressed  with  equally  good 
effect  to  ladies  anywhere  between  seventeen  and  seventy. 

17 


Lola  Montez 

Mr.  James  began  to  grow  restive  under  the  fire  of  admira- 
tion directed  by  great  personages  upon  his  young  wife. 
It  is  not  impossible  to  believe  that  she  flirted.  Her 
husband  decided  to  withdraw  her  from  the  seductions 
of  the  viceregal  court,  and  retired  with  her  to  some  spot 
in  the  interior,  the  name  of  which  has  not  been  trans- 
mitted to  us.  Lola,  in  memoirs  she  contributed  years 
after  to  a  Parisian  newspaper,  describes  her  life  in  this 
retreat  as  unutterably  tedious.  The  day  was  passed 
in  hunting  and  eating,  these  exercises  succeeding  each 
other  with  the  utmost  regularity.  Meanwhile,  the 
system  was  sustained  by  innumerable  cups  of  tea,  taken 
at  stated  intervals,  and  with  much  deliberateness. 

Ireland  had  changed  since  the  emancipation  of  the 
Catholics.  It  was  not  with  tea  that  the  heroes  of 
Charles  Lever's  time  beguiled  the  tedium  of  existence. 

"  This  dismal  life,"  continues  our  heroine,  "  weighed 
on  me  to  such  an  extent  that  I  should  assuredly  have 
done  something  desperate  if  my  husband  had  not  just 
then  been  ordered  to  return  to  India."  Lola,  it  will 
have  been  seen,  entertained  little  affection  for  her 
native  land.  She  had  no  recollection  of  her  childhood 
there,  and  she  never  afterwards  thought  of  the  country 
except  in  connection  with  the  detested  husband  of  her 
youth. 

In  the  second  year  of  the  Queen's  reign  she  left 
Ireland,  to  return  years  after  in  very  different  circum- 
stances. Her  fondest  memories  were  of  the  East, 
towards  which  she  now  gladly  turned  her  face  for  the 
second  time.  "  On  the  old  trail,  on  the  out  trail," 
she  sailed  aboard  the  East  Indiaman,  Bhmt,  her  husband 
at  her  side.  There  is  a. curious  parallelism  between  her 
mother's  life  and  her  own  up  till  now,  which  she  could 

i8 


First  Steps  in  Matrimony 

not  have  failed  to  notice.  Her  memories  of  the  voyage 
strike  me  rather  as  having  been  specially  spiced  for  the 
consumption  of  Parisian  readers,  than  as  an  authentic 
relation.  James,  we  are  told,  neglected  his  young  wife, 
and  exhibited  an  amazing  capacity  for  absorbing  porter. 
Finding  the  time  heavy  on  her  hands,  Lola  resorted  to 
the  commonest  of  all  distractions  on  passenger  ships — 
flirting.  While  her  consort  lay  sleeping  "  like  a  boa- 
constrictor  "  in  his  bunk,  his  wife's  admirers  used  to 
slip  notes  under  the  door,  these  serving  her  as  spills  for 
Mr.  James's  pipe.  The  gentlemen  who  fell  under  the 
spell  of  Lola's  fascinations  at  this  stage  of  her  career 
were  three  in  number — a  Spaniard  called  Enriquez, 
an  Englishman,  simply  described  as  John,  and  the 
skipper  himself.  This  "  colossal  sailor  "  seems  to  have 
been  somewhat  of  a  philosopher.  One  of  his  profound 
reflections  has  been  handed  down  to  us,  and  is  worth 
recording  :  "  Love  is  a  pipe  we  fill  at  eighteen,  and 
smoke  till  forty  ;  and  we  rake  the  ashes  till  our  exit." 
Lola  thus  pictures  as  a  man-enslaving  Circe  the  girl 
who  was  described  by  a  contemporary  as  a  good  little 
thing,  merry  and  unaffected.  I  doubt  if  the  flirtations 
here  magnified  into  intrigues  were  very  serious  affairs, 
after  all.  It  is  rather  pathetic,  the  woman's  shame  for 
the  simplicity  of  the  girl,  and  her  evident  desire  to  paint 
her  redder  than  she  was.  It  is  probable  that  the  girl 
would  have  been  quite  as  much  ashamed  if  she  could  have 
seen  herself  at  thirty. 


19 


IV 

INDIA   SEVENTY   YEARS   AGO 

The  land  to  which  little  Mrs.  James  was  eager  to  return 
seems  to  us  now  to  have  been  a  poor  exchange  for  the 
rollicking  Ireland  of  Lever's  day.  India  in  1838,  as  for 
a  score  of  years  after,  was  under  the  rule  of  John 
Company.  Collectors  and  writers  of  the  Jos.  Sedley 
type  were  still  able  to  shake  the  pagoda  tree,  and 
Englishmen  in  outlying  provinces  often  became  suddenly 
rich,  how  or  why  nobody  asked,  and  only  the  natives 
cared.  Indigo  planters  beat  their  half-caste  wives  to 
death,  and  English  magistrates  looked  the  other  way. 
Our  people  died,  like  flies  in  autumn,  of  cholera,  snake- 
bites, and  the  thousand  and  one  fevers  to  which  India 
was  subject.  We  were  still  shut  in  by  powerful  native 
states.  Ran] it  Singh  ruled  in  the  Punjaub,  the  Baluchis 
in  Scinde  ;  there  was  yet  a  king  in  Oude  and  a  rajah  at 
Nagpur.  Slavery  was  only  abolished  in  the  British 
dominions  that  very  year,  and  Hindoo  widows  had  but 
lately  lost  the  privilege  of  burning  themselves  on  their 
husbands'  funeral  pyres.  The  chronic  famine  had 
assumed  slightly  more  serious  proportions. 

It  was  a  land  of  loneliness,  remote  and  isolated.  A 
postal  service  had  been  introduced  only  the  year  before, 
and  letters  took  at  least  three  months  to  come  from 

21 


Lola  Montez 

England.  This  was  by  the  overland  route,  which  was 
liable  at  any  moment  to  interruption  by  the  caprice  of 
the  Pasha  of  Egypt  or  the  enterprise  of  Bedouins.  There 
were,  of  course,  no  railways  and  no  telegraphs.  You 
travelled  wherever  possible  by  river,  in  boats  called 
budgerows,  which  had  not  increased  in  speed  since 
Ensign  Gilbert's  day.  Going  up  the  Ganges  you  might 
have  seen  the  Danish  flag  waving  over  Serampore.  If 
you  were  in  a  hurry  and  could  afford  it,  you  travelled 
dak — that  is,  in  a  palanquin,  carried  by  four  bearers, 
who  were  changed  at  each  stage  like  posting-horses. 
This  method  of  travel — about  the  most  uncomfortable, 
I  conceive,  ever  devised  by  man — greatly  impressed  and 
interested  Lola.  She  thought  it  repugnant  to  one's 
sense  of  humanity,  but  could  not  help  observing  the 
lightheartedness  of  the  bearers.  They  jogged  briskly 
along  to  the  accompaniment  of  improvised  songs, 
which  were  not  always  flattering  to  their  human  load. 

"  I  will  give  you  a  sample,"  says  our  traveller,  "  as 
well  as  it  could  be  made  out,  of  what  I  heard  them 
sing  while  carrying  an  English  clergyman  who  could 
not  have  weighed  less  than  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds.  Each  line  of  the  following  jargon  was 
sung  in  a  different  voice  : — 

"  '  Oh,  what  a  heavy  bag  ! 
No,  it  is  an  elephant ; 
He  is  an  awful  weight. 
Let  us  throw  his  palki  down. 
Let  us  set  him  in  the  mud — 
Let  us  leave  him  to  his  fate. 
Ay,  but  he  will  beat  us  then 
With  a  thick  stick. 
Then  let's  make  haste  and  get  along. 
Jump  along  quickly  !  ' 
22 


India  Seventy  Years  Ago 

"  And  off  they  started  in  a  jog-trot,  which  must 
have  shaken  every  bone  in  his  reverence's  body,  keeping 
chorus  all  the  time  of  '  Jump  along  quickly,'  until  they 
were  obliged  to  stop  for  laughing. 

"  They  invariably  (continues  Lola)  suit  these  extem- 
pore chants  to  the  weight  and  character  of  their  burden. 
I  remember  to  have  been  exceedingly  amused  one  day 
at  the  merry  chant  of  my  human  horses  as  they  started 
off  on  the  run. 

"  '  She's  not  heavy, 

Cabbada  [take  care]! 
Little  baba  [missie], 
Cabbada  ! 

Carry  her  swiftly, 

Cabbada  ! 
Pretty  baba, 

Cabbada  !  ' 

"  And  so  they  went  on,  singing  and  extemporising 
for  the  whole  hour  and  a  half's  journey.  It  is  quite 
a  common  custom  to  give  them  four  annas  (or  English 
sixpence)  apiece  at  the  end  of  every  stage,  when  fresh 
horses  [sic]  are  put  under  the  burden  ;  but  a  gentleman 
of  my  acquaintance,  who  had  been  carried  too  slowly, 
as  he  thought,  only  gave  them  two  annas  apiece.  The 
consequence  was  that  during  the  next  stage  the  men 
not  only  went  faster,  but  they  made  him  laugh  with 
their  characteristic  song,  the  whole  burden  of  which 
was  :  '  He  has  only  given  them  two  annas,  because 
they  went  slowly  ;  let  us  make  haste,  and  get  along 
quickly,  and  then  we  shall  get  eight  annas,  and  have 
a  good  supper.'  " 

The  burden  of  the  European's  life  in  India  at  this 
period  is  voiced  in  "  Marois'  "  poem,  The  Long,  Long, 

23 


Lola  Montez 

Indian  Day.  It  was  the  empire  of  ennui.  A  strongly 
puritanical  tone,  too,  was  observable  in  certain  in- 
fluential circles,  and  the  clergy  frequently  discounten- 
anced and  condemned  the  poor  efforts  at  relaxation 
made  by  officers  and  their  wives.  Dances  and  amateur 
theatricals  were  often  the  subject  of  censure  from  the 
pulpit.  So  the  men  fell  back  on  brandy  pawnee,  loo, 
and  tiger-shooting.  The  women  were  worse  off.  To  the 
Honourable  Emily  Eden  we  are  indebted  for  some  vivid 
pictures  of  Anglo-Indian  society  during  the  viceroyalty 
of  her  brother.  Lord  Auckland  (1836-1842).  They 
enable  us  to  realise  Lola's  emotions  and  manner  of  life 
during  her  second  visit  to  India.  Miss  Eden's  com- 
passionate interest  was  excited  by 

"  a  number  of  young  ladies  just  come  out  by  the  last 
ships,  looking  so  fresh  and  English,  and  longing  to 
amuse  themselves — and  it  must  be  such  a  bore  at  that 
age  to  be  shut  up  for  twenty-three  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four  ;  and  the  one  hour  that  they  are  out  is 
only  an  airing  just  where  the  roads  are  watered.  They 
have  no  gardens,  no  villages,  no  poor  people,  no  schools, 
no  poultry  to  look  after — none  of  the  occupations  of 
young  people.  Very  few  of  them  are  at  ease  with 
their  parents  ;  and,  in  short,  it  is  a  melancholy  sight 
to  see  a  new  young  arrival." 

Another  passage  runs  : — 

"It  is  a  melancholy  country  for  wives  at  the  best, 
and   I   strongly   advise  you  never  to  let  young  girls 

marry  an  East  Indian.     There  was  a  pretty  Mrs. 

dining  here  yesterday,  quite  a  child  in  looks,  who  married 
just  before  the  Repulse  sailed,  and  landed  here  about 
ten  days  ago.  She  goes  on  next  week  to  Neemuch, 
a  place  at  the  farthest  extremity  of  India,  where  there 

24 


India  Seventy  Years  Ago 

is  not  another  European  woman,  and  great  part  of  the 
road  to  it  is  through  jungle,  which  is  only  passable 
occasionally  from  its  unwholesomeness.  She  detests 
what  she  has  seen  of  India,  and  evidently  begins  to 
think  '  papa  and  mamma  '  were  right  in  withholding 
for  a  year  their  consent  to  her  marriage.  I  think  she 
wishes  they  had  held  out  another  month.     There  is 

another,   Mrs. ,   who  is  only  fifteen,   who  married 

when  we  were  at  the  Cape,  .  .  .  and  went  straight  on 
to  her  husband's  station,  where  for  five  months  she 
had  never  seen  a  European.  He  was  out  surveying 
all  day,  and  they  lived  in  a  tent.  She  has  utterly  lost 
her  health  and  spirits,  and  though  they  have  come  down 
here  for  three  weeks'  furlough,  she  has  never  been  able 
even  to  call  here  [at  Government  House].  He  came 
to  make  her  excuse,  and  said,  with  a  deep  sigh  :  '  Poor 
girl  !  she  must  go  back  to  her  solitude.  She  hoped 
she  could  have  gone  out  a  little  in  Calcutta,  to  give 
her  something  to  think  of.'  And  then,  if  these  poor 
women  have  children,  they  must  send  them  away  just 
as  they  become  amusing.     It  is  an  abominable  place." 

This  was  not  realised  at  once  by  Mrs.  James,  whose 
first  season  (she  tells  us)  was  passed  "  in  the  gay  and 
fashionable  city  of  Calcutta."  There  she  became  an 
acknowledged  beauty.  Not  long  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  first  Afghan  War  she  was  torn  away  from  the 
comparative  brilliance  of  the  capital,  and  accompanied 
her  husband  most  reluctantly,  to  Karnal,  a  town  between 
Delhi  and  Simla,  on  the  Jumna  Canal.  The  place  is  no 
longer  a  military  station.  At  this  juncture,  happily 
for  us,  a  flood  of  light  is  poured  upon  Lola's  character 
and  history  by  the  letters  of  Miss  Eden,  dated  from 
Simla  and  Karnal  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1839. 
I  include  some  extracts  not  directly  relating  to  Lola, 
as  they  describe  scenes  in  which  she  must  have  taken 

25 


Lola  Montez 

part,  and  which  formed  the  background  against  which  she 
moved. 

"  Sunday,  8th  September  [1839]. 

"  Simla  is  much  moved  just  now  by  the  arrival  of 
a  Mrs.  J[ames],  who  has  been  talked  of  as  a  great  beauty 
of  the  year,  and  that  drives  every  other  woman,  with 
any  pretensions  in  that  line,  quite  distracted,  v/ith 
the  exception  of  Mrs.  N.,  who,  I  must  say,  makes  no 
fuss  about  her  own  beauty,  nor  objects  to  it  in  other 
people.  Mrs.  J[ames]  is  the  daughter  of  a  Mrs.  C[raigie], 
who  is  still  very  handsome  herself,  and  whose  husband 
is  Deputy-Adjutant-General,  or  some  military  authority 
of  that  kind.  She  sent  this  only  child  to  be  educated 
at  home,  and  went  home  herself  two  years  ago  to  see 
her.  On  the  same  ship  was  Mr.  J.,  a  poor  ensign, 
going  home  on  sick  leave.  Mrs.  C,  nursed  him  and 
took  care  of  him,  and  took  him  to  see  her  daughter, 
who  was  a  girl  of  fifteen  [sic]  at  school.  He  told  her 
he  was  engaged  to  be  married,  consulted  her  about 
his  prospects,  and  in  the  meantime  privately  married 
this  girl  at  school.  It  was  enough  to  provoke  any 
mother,  but  as  it  now  cannot  be  helped,  we  have  all 
been  trying  to  persuade  her  for  the  last  year  to  make  it 
up,  as  she  frets  dreadfully  about  her  only  child.  She 
has  withstood  it  till  now,  but  at  last  consented  to  ask 
them  for  a  month,  and  they  arrived  three  days  ago. 
The  rush  on  the  road  was  remarkable,  and  one  or  two 
of  the  ladies  were  looking  absolutely  nervous.  But 
nothing  could  be  more  unsatisfactory  than  the  result, 
for  Mrs.  James  looked  lovely,  and  Mrs.  Craigie  had  set 
up  for  her  a  very  grand  jonpaun  [kind  of  sedan-chair], 
with  bearers  in  fine  orange  and  brown  liveries,  and  the 
same  for  herself  ;  and  James  is  a  sort  of  smart-looking 
man,  with  bright  waistcoats  and  bright  teeth,  with  a 
showy  horse,  and  he  rode  along  in  an  attitude  of  res- 
pectful attention  to  ma  belle  mere.  Altogether  it  was 
an  imposing  sight,  and  I  cannot  see  any  way  out  of  it 

26 


India  Seventy  Years  Ago 

but  magnanimous  admiration.  They  all  called  yester- 
day when  I  was  at  the  waterfalls,  and  F[anny]  thought 
her  very  pretty." 

"  Tuesday,   loth  September. 

"  We  had  a  dinner  yesterday.  Mrs.  James  is  un- 
doubtedly very  pretty,  and  such  a  merry,  unaffected 
girl.  She  is  only  seventeen  now  [twenty-one,  in  fact], 
and  does  not  look  so  old,  and  when  one  thinks  that 
she  is  married  to  a  junior  heutenant  in  the  Indian 
army  fifteen  years  older  than  herself,  and  that  they 
have  i6o  rupees  a  month,  and  are  to  pass  their  whole 
lives  in  India,  I  do  not  wonder  at  Mrs.  Craigie's  resent- 
ment at  her  having  run  away  from  school. 

"  There  are  seventeen  more  officers  come  up  to  Simla 
on  leave  for  a  month,  partly  in  the  hope  of  a  httle 
gaiety  at  the  end  of  the  rains  ;  and  then  the  fancy  fair 
has  had  a  great  reputation  since  last  year,  and  as  they 
will  all  spend  money,  they  are  particularly  welcome.  .  .  . 

"  Wednesday,   nth  September. 

"  We  had  a  large  party  last  night,  the  largest  we 
have  had  in  Simla,  and  it  would  have  been  a  pretty 
ball  anywhere,  there  were  so  many  pretty  people. 
The  retired  wives,  now  that  their  husbands  are  on  the 
march  back  from  Cabul,  ventured  out,  and  got  through 
one  evening  without  any  prejudice  to  their  characters." 

^  Are  regimental  ladies  in  India  nowadays  expected  to 
keep  in  seclusion  while  their  husbands  are  on  active 
service  ?   I  think  not. 

"  Monday,    i6th   September. 

"  We  are  going  to  a  ball  to-night,  which  the  married 
gentlemen  give  us  ;  and  instead  of  being  at  the  only 
public  room,  which  is  a  broken,  tumble-down  place, 
it  is  to  be  at  the  C.'s  [the  Craigies'  ?],  who  very  good- 
naturedly  give  up  their  house  for  it." 

27 


Lola  Montez 

"  Wednesday,    i8th  September. 

"  The  ball  went  off  with  the  greatest  success  :  trans- 
parencies of  the  taking  of  Ghaznee,  'Auckland  '  in  all 
directions,  arches  and  verandahs  made  up  of  flowers  ; 
a  whist  table  for  his  lordship,  which  is  always  a  great 
relief  at  these  balls ;  and  every  individual  at  Simla 
was  there.  There  was  a  supper  room  for  us,  made 
up  of  velvet  and  gold  hangings  belonging  to  the  Durbar, 
and  a  standing  supper  all  night  for  the  company  in 
general,  at  which  one  very  fat  lady  was  detected  in 
eating  five  suppers.  ...  It  was  kept  up  till  five, 
and  altogether  succeeded." 

"  Friday,   ■z'jth  September. 

"  We  had  our  fancy  fair  on  Wednesday,  which 
went  off  with  great  eclat,  and  was  really  a  very  amusing 
day,  and,  moreover,  produced  6,500  rupees,  which, 
for  a  very  small  society,  is  an  immense  sum.  X.  and 
L.  and  a  Captain  C.  were  disguised  as  gipsies,  and 
the  most  villainous-looking  set  possible ;  and  they 
came  on  to  the  fair,  and  sang  an  excellent  song  about 
our  poor  old  Colonel  and  a  little  hill  fort  that  he  has 
been  taking  ;  but  after  the  siege  was  over,  he  found 
no  enemy  in  it,  otherwise,  it  was  a  gallant  action. 

"  We  had  provided  luncheon  at  a  large  booth  with 
the  sign  of  the  '  Marquess  of  Granby.'  L.  E.  was  old 
Weller,  and  so  disguised  I  could  not  guess  him  ;  X. 
was  Sam  Weller  ;  K.,  Jingle  ;  and  Captain  C,  Mrs. 
Weller  ;  Captain  Z.,  merely  a  waiter,  with  one  or  two 
other  gentlemen  ;  but  they  all  acted  very  well  up  to 
their  characters,  and  the  luncheon  was  very  good  fun.  .  .  . 
The  afternoon  ended  with  races — a  regular  racing- 
stand,  and  a  very  tolerable  course  for  the  hills  ;  all 
the  gentlemen  in  satin  jackets  and  jockey  caps,  and  a 
weighing  stand — in  short,  everything  got  up  regularly. 
Everybody  likes  these  out-of-door  amusements  at  this 
time  of  year,  and  it  is  a  marvel  to  me  how  well  X. 
and  K.  and  L.  E.  contrive  to  make  all  their  plots  and 

28 


India  Seventy  Years  Ago 

disguises  go  on,  I  suppose  in  a  very  small  society 
it  is  easier  than  it  would  be  in  England,  and  they  have 
all  the  assistance  of  servants  to  any  amount,  who  do 
all  they  are  told,  and  merely  think  the  '  sahib  log  ' 
are  mad." 

"  Tuesday,    i$th   October. 

"  The  Sikhs  are  here.  Our  ball  for  them  last  night 
went  off  very  well.  The  chiefs  were  in  splendid  gold 
dresses,  and  certainly  very  gentleman-like  men.  They 
sat  bolt  upright  on  their  chairs,  with  their  feet  dangling, 
and  I  dare  say  suffered  agonies  from  cramp.  C.  said 
we  saw  them  amazingly  divided  between  the  necessity 
of  listening  to  George  [Lord  Auckland],  and  their 
native  feelings  of  not  seeming  surprised,  and  their 
curiosity  at  men  and  women  dancing  together.  I 
think  that  they  learned  at  least  two  figures  of  the 
quadrilles  by  heart,  for  I  saw  Gholab  Singh,  the 
commander  of  the  Goorcherras,  who  has  been  with 
Europeans  before,  expounding  the  dancing  to  the 
others." 


Lola's  month  at  Simla  had  now  expired,  but  she 
probably  postponed  her  departure  to  witness  the  recep- 
tion of  these  chiefs.  Having  been  reconciled  with  her 
mother — partly,  it  seems,  through  the  kindly  inter- 
vention of  the  Governor-General's  sister,  and  partly, 
as  she  afterwards  declared,  through  her  stepfather — 
she  returned  with  her  husband  to  his  cantonment. 
Here  she  was  fortunate  again  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  viceregal  party. 

Miss  Eden  writes  from  Karnal,  under  date  13th 
November  1839  : — 

"  We  had  the  same  display  of  troops  on  arriving, 
except  that  a  bright  yellow  General  N.  has  taken  his 

29 


Lola  Montez 

liver  complaint  home,  and  a  pale  primrose  General 
D.,  who  has  been  renovating  some  years  at  Bath,  has 
come  out  to  take  his  place.  We  were  at  home  in  the 
evening,  and  it  was  an  immense  party,  but  except 
that  pretty  Mrs.  James  who  was  at  Simla,  and  who 
looked  like  a  star  among  the  others,  the  women  were 
all  plain. 

"  I  don't  wonder  if  a  tolerable-looking  girl  comes  up 

the  country  that  she  is  persecuted  with  proposals 

That  Mrs. we  always  called  the  little  corpse  is 

still  at  Karnal.  She  came  and  sat  herself  down  by 
me,  upon  which  Mr.  K.,  with  great  presence  of  mind, 
offered  me  his  arm,  and  said  to  George  that  he  was 
taking  me  away  from  that  corpse.  '  You  are  quite 
right,'  said  George.  '  It  would  be  very  dangerous 
sitting  on  the  same  sofa  ;  we  don't  know  what  she 
died  of.'  " 

"  Sunday,  ijth  November. 

"  We  left  Karnal  yesterday  morning.  Little  Mrs. 
James  was  so  unhappy  at  our  going  that  we  asked  her 
to  come  and  pass  the  day  here,  and  brought  her  with 
us.     She  went  from   tent   to   tent,   and  chattered   all 

day,  and  visited  her  friend  Mrs. ,  who  is  with  the 

camp.  I  gave  her  a  pink  silk  gown,  and  it  was  altogether 
a  very  happy  day  for  her  evidently.  It  ended  in  her 
going  back  to  Karnal  on  my  elephant,  with  E.  N.  by 
her  side  and  Mr.  James  sitting  behind,  and  she  had 
never  been  on  an  elephant  before,  and  thought  it 
delightful.  She  is  very  pretty,  and  a  good  little  thing, 
apparently,  but  they  are  very  poor,  and  she  is  very 
young  and  lively,  and  if  she  falls  into  bad  hands  she 
would  soon  laugh  herself  into  foolish  scrapes.  At 
present  the  husband  and  wife  are  very  fond  of  each 
other,  but  a  girl  who  marries  at  fifteen  hardly  knows 
what  she  likes." 


30 


V 

RIVEN   BONDS 

Miss  Eden's  misgivings  were  warranted  by  the  events. 
"  Husband  and  wife  are  very  fond  of  each  other  " — 
that  was,  doubtless,  true,  but  Lola's  lips  would  have 
curled  had  she  read  the  passage  in  after  years.  Aban- 
doned by  the  departure  of  the  viceregal  party  once 
more  to  the  slender  social  resources  of  Karnal,  the  young 
wife,  I  conjecture,  fretted  and  moped.  The  glitter  of 
the  Court  made  the  boredom  of  the  cantonment  all  the 
more  oppressive.  The  year  after  the  Simla  festivities 
Karnal  had  another  distinguished  visitor,  the  famous 
Dost  Mohammed  Khan,  Amir  of  Kabul,  but  as  during 
his  six  months'  stay  he  was  kept  a  close  prisoner  in  the 
fort,  his  presence  could  not  have  sensibly  relieved  the 
monotony.  Lieutenant  James's  subsequent  readiness 
to  divorce  his  wife  proves  that  he  had  no  very  strong 
attachment  to  her,  and  gives  som^e  colour  to  her  allega- 
tions against  him.  Of  course,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that 
both  were  in  the  wrong,  or,  more  truthfully,  had  made 
a  mistake.  So  long,  however,  as  people  regard  marriage 
more  as  a  contract  than  a  relation,  each  party  will  be 
anxious  to  throw  the  responsibility  for  the  rupture 
upon  the  other.  As  the  husband  had  the  opportunity 
of  stating  his  case  in  the  law  courts,  it  is  only  fair  that 

31 


Lola  Montez 

the  wife  should  be  allowed  to  plead  hers  here.  Her 
version  of  the  circumstances  which  brought  about  the 
breach  is  as  follows  : — 


"  She  was  taken  to  visit  a  Mrs.  Lomer — a  pretty 
woman,  who  was  about  thirty-three  years  of  age,  and 
was  a  great  admirer  of  Captain  [sic]  James.  [His 
bright  waistcoats  and  bright  teeth  were  not  without 
their  effect,  we  see.]  Her  husband  was  a  blind  fool 
enough ;  and  though  Captain  James's  little  wife, 
Lola,  was  not  quite  a  fool,  it  is  likely  enough  that  she 
did  not  care  enough  about  him  to  keep  a  look-out 
upon  what  was  going  on  between  himself  and  Mrs. 
Lomer.  So  she  used  to  be  peacefully  sleeping  every 
morning  when  the  Captain  [read  Lieutenant]  and  Mrs. 
Lomer  were  off  for  a  sociable  ride  on  horseback.  In 
this  way  things  went  on  for  a  long  time,  when  one 
morning  Captain  James  and  Mrs.  Lomer  did  not  get 
back  to  breakfast,  and  so  the  little  Mrs  .James  and 
Mr.  Lomer  breakfasted  alone,  wondering  what  had 
become  of  the  morning  riders. 

"  But  all  doubts  were  soon  cleared  up  by  the  fact 
fully  coming  to  light  that  they  had  really  eloped  to 
Neilghery  Hills.  Poor  Lomer  stormed,  and  raved,  and 
tore  himself  to  pieces,  not  having  the  courage  to  attack 
any  one  else.  And  little  Lola  wondered,  cried  a  little, 
and  laughed  a  good  deal,  especially  at  Lomer's  rage." 

The  injured  husband,  apparently,  was  never  pieced 
together  again,  as  we  do  not  hear  that  he  ever  instituted 
any  proceedings  against  the  seducer  of  his  wife.  It 
is  true  that  by  Lola's  account  they  may  be  considered 
to  have  put  themselves  beyond  his  reach,  for  the 
Neilghery  Hills  lie,  as  the  crow  flies,  about  1,400  miles 
from  Karnal,  and  a  stern  chase  in  a  palanquin  over  that 
distance  is  an  undertaking  from  which  even  Menelaus 

32 


Riven  Bonds 

would  have  shrank.     Nor  did  the  peccant  Lieutenant 
James  think  it  worth  while  to  resign  his  commission. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  immediate  cause,  it  is 
clear  that  husband  and  wife  were  on  bad  terms  when 
the  cantonment  at  Karnal  was  broken  up  in  the  year 
1841.  Lola  took  refuge  under  her  mother's  roof  at 
Calcutta.  She  admits  that  her  reception  was  cold, 
and  that  Mrs.  Craigie  pressed  her  to  return  to  Europe. 
On  this  course  she  finally  decided,  probably  without 
great  reluctance.  It  was  given  out,  and  not  perhaps 
altogether  untruly,  that  she  was  leaving  India  for  the 
benefit  of  her  health.  Her  husband  came  down  to 
Calcutta,  and  himself  saw  her  aboard  the  good  ship, 
Larkins.  Her  stepfather,  to  whose  relations  in  Scotland 
she  was  again  to  be  confided,  was  much  affected  at  her 
departure. 

"  Large  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  when  he  took 
her  on  board  the  vessel ;  and  he  testified  his  affection 
and  his  care  by  placing  in  the  hands  of  the  little  grass- 
widow  a  cheque  for  a  thousand  pounds  on  a  house  in 
London." 

Thus  for  the  second  and  last  time  Lola  saw  the 
swampy  shores  of  Bengal  receding  from  her  across  the 
waves.  She  was  never  again  to  see  India  or  those  who 
bid  her  adieu.  The  merry,  unaffected  schoolgirl  of 
Simla  had  become  in  one  short  year  a  disappointed, 
disillusioned  woman.  While  husband  and  wife  ex- 
changed cold  farewells,  probably  neither  expected  nor 
wished  to  see  the  other  again.  Both  had  made  a 
mistake,  and  both  knew  it.  Now  they  were  placing 
half  a  world  between  them.  Lola's  heart  must  have 
lightened,  as  the  good  ship  sped  before  the  wind  south- 

33 


Lola  Montez 

wards  across  the  Indian  Ocean.  Accustomed  to  ship- 
board, the  desagrements  of  the  voyage  were  nothing  to 
her,  and  she  immediately  began  to  take  an  interest  in 
her  companions.  She  speaks  of  a  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sturges, 
Boston  people,  who  were  nominally  in  charge  of  her  ; 
and  of  a  Mrs.  Stevens,  another  American  lady,  a  very 
gay  woman,  who  had  some  influence  in  supporting  her 
determination  not  to  go  to  the  Craigies'  on  reaching 
England.  There  was  a  Mr.  Lennox  on  board,  sometimes 
described  as  an  aide-de-camp  to  some  governor,  who 
also  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  this  resolution. 
It  all  came  about  as  Lord  Auckland's  sister  had  feared. 
Lola  had  fallen  into  evil  hands,  and  laughed  herself 
into  a  bad  scrape.  She  had  been  accustomed  to  admira- 
tion ;  she  was  young,  beautiful,  and  passionate.  Her 
heart  was  empty  ;  she  was  angered  against  her  husband. 
She  was  by  no  means  unwilling  to  face  the  possibility 
of  a  final  separation  from  him.  Lennox  remains  for  us 
the  shadowiest  of  personalities,  but  his  disappearance, 
implying  abandonment  of  the  woman  he  had  com- 
promised, tells  against  him.  In  this  instance  I  think 
we  may  safely  conclude  that  the  man  was  to  blame. 

Out  of  affection  for  him,  then,  or  a  determination  to 
lead  her  own  life,  uncontrolled  and  unshackled,  Mrs. 
James,  on  arriving  in  London,  flatly  refused  to  accom- 
pany Mr.  David  Craigie,  "  a  blue  Scotch  Calvinist," 
whom  she  found  awaiting  her. 

"  At  first  he  used  arguments  and  persuasion,  and 
finding  that  these  failed,  he  tried  force  ;  and  then,  of 
course,  there  was  an  explosion,  which  soon  settled  the 
matter,  and  convinced  Mr.  David  Craigie  that  he 
might  go  back  to  the  little  dull  town  of  Perth  as  soon 
as  he  pleased,  without  the  little  grass-widow.     Now 

34 


Riven  Bonds 

she  was  left  in  London,  sole  mistress  of  her  own  fate. 
She  had,  besides  the  cheque  given  her  by  her  step- 
father, between  five  and  six  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  various  kinds  of  jewellery,  making  her  capital,  all 
counted,  about  ten  thousand  dollars — a  very  consider- 
able portion  of  which  disappeared  in  less  than  one  year 
by  a  sort  of  insensible  perspiration,  which  is  a  disease 
very  common  to  the  purses  of  ladies  who  have  never 
been  taught  the  value  of  money." 

It  was  in  the  early  spring  of  1842  that  Lola  set  foot 
in  London,  Considering  the  rapidity  for  those  times 
with  which  her  husband  became  informed  of  her  next 
movements,  these  must  have  been  amazingly  open  ; 
and  it  is  hard  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  she  was 
deliberately  trying  to  bring  about  a  divorce.  She  knew 
that  the  English  law  grants  no  relief  to  those  who  come 
to  it  both  with  clean  hands.  She  knew  also  that  so  long 
as  her  husband  neither  starved  nor  beat  her,  she  could 
not  set  the  law  in  motion  against  him.  English  law, 
supposed  to  vindicate  the  sanctity  of  marriage,  sets  a 
premium  on  adultery  and  cruelty  :  these  are  the  only 
avenues  of  escape  from  unhappy  unions  into  which  high- 
minded  men  and  women  may  have  been  betrayed  by 
youthful  folly,  by  over-persuasion,  by  sentiments  they 
innocently  over-estimated.  If  Lola  Gilbert  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  had  signed  a  bill  for  ten  pounds,  the  courts 
would  have  annulled  the  transaction,  on  the  ground  that 
her  youth  rendered  her  incapable  of  appreciating  its 
gravity.  As  it  was,  she  had  signed  away  her  life — a  less 
important  thing  than  property — and  our  Rhadamanthine 
law  sternly  held  her  to  her  bargain. 

James  was  not  slow  to  avail  himself  of  the  pretext 
she  afforded  him      He  instituted  through  his  proctors 

35 


Lola  Montez 

a  suit  against  her  for  divorce  in  the  Consistory^Court^'of 
London,  to  which  jurisdiction  in  all  matrimonial  causes 
at  that  time  belonged.  Lola,  as  he  probably  expected 
she  would  do,  ignored  the  proceedings  from  first  to  last. 
The  case  was  heard  before  Dr.  Lushington  on  15th 
December  1842.  Mrs.  James  was  accused  of  misconduct 
with  Mr.  Lennox  on  board  the  ship  Larkins,  and  of 
subsequently  cohabiting  with  him  at  the  Imperial  Hotel, 
Covent  Garden,  and  in  lodgings  in  St.  James's.  The 
court  was  satisfied  with  the  proofs  adduced,  and  pro- 
nounced a  divorce  a  mensd  et  toro.  In  modern  legal 
language  this  was  a  judicial  separation.  These  two 
people,  though  they  were  to  live  apart,  were  sentenced 
never  to  marry  again  during  the  lifetime  of  each  other. 
It  is  by  such  dispositions  that  the  law  of  England 
proposes  to  promote  morality  and  the  interests  of 
society. 

Both  lover  and  husband  disappear  from  the  scene. 
James  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain,  retired  from  the 
Indian  army  in  1856,  and  died  in  1871.  He  never 
crossed  Lola's  path  again,  and  she  ever  afterwards 
referred  to  him  with  contempt  and  bitterness.  If  it 
was  in  any  vindictive  spirit  that  he  divorced  her,  he 
would  have  done  well  to  remember  how  in  former  years 
he  had  taken  advantage  of  her  youth  and  inexperience. 
It  was  a  squalid  ending  to  the  romantic  runaway  match. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  with  what  emotions 
Captain  James  heard  of  his  ex-wife's  adventures  in  high 
places  in  the  years  that  followed.  It  must  have  seemed 
odd  that  monarchs  should  risk  their  crowns  for  the  charms 
that  he  so  lightly  prized.  Perhaps  his  wonder  was 
not  untinged  with  regret.  More  likely  it  might  have 
been  written  of  him  as  of  Lola  : — 

36 


Riven  Bonds 

"  Who  have  loved  and  ceased  to  love,  forget 
That  ever  they  lived  in  their  Hves,  they  say — 
Only  remember  the  fever  and  fret, 
And  the  pain  of  love  that  was  all  his  pay." 

Mrs.  Craigie  put  on  mourning  as  though  her  child  was 
dead,  and  sent  out  to  her  friends  the  customary  noti- 
fications. The  good  old  Deputy- Adjutant-General  alone 
thought  kindly  of  Lola. 


37 


VI 

LONDON    IN   THE    'FORTIES 

To  a  woman  in  Lola's  situation,  London  in  the  early 
'forties  offered  every  inducement  to  go  to  the  devil. 
Between  a  roaring  maelstrom  of  the  coarsest  libertinism, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  an  impregnable  barrier  of  heartless 
puritanism  on  the  other,  her  destruction  was  well-nigh 
inevitable.  The  hotchpotch  of  unorganised  humanity 
that  we  call  Society  seldom  presented  an  uglier  appear- 
ance than  it  did  in  the  first  decade  of  Victoria's  reign. 
Sir  Mulberry  Hawk  and  Pecksniff  are  types  of  the  two 
contending  forces.  Blackguardism  was  matched  against 
snivelling  cant.  Luckily,  the  victory  fell  to  neither. 
Those  were  the  days  of  Crockfords,  of  Vauxhall,  of  the 
spunging-house,  of  public  executions  turned  into  popular 
festivals  ;  when  gentlemen  of  fashion  painted  policemen 
pea-green,  and  beat  them  till  they  were  senseless ; 
when  peers  got  drunk  and  the  people  starved.  Opposed 
to  this  debauchery  was  a  religion  of  convention  and 
propriety,  narrow,  stupid,  and  un-Christlike — the  cult 
of  the  correct  and  the  respectable,  the  fetishes  to  which 
Lady  Flora  Hastings  and  many  another  woman  were 
coldly  sacrificed. 

In  spite  of  Sir  Mulberry  and  Mr.  Pecksniff,  however, 
Lola,  ex-Mrs.  James,  had  no  intention  of  going  under. 

39 


Lola  Montez 

Her  exclusion  from  society,  after  her  wearisome  ex- 
periences in  India,  she  probably  regarded  as  no  great 
hardship.  Her  youth,  her  sprightliness,  and  her  beauty 
made  her  many  friends.  Some  of  these  as  quickly 
became  enemies,  when  they  discovered  that  a  divorced 
woman  is  not  necessarily  for  sale.  More  than  one 
roue  vowed  vengeance  against  the  girl  who,  with  bursts 
of  laughter  and  dangerous  gusts  of  anger,  rejected  the 
offer  of  his  protection.  It  was,  perhaps,  in  this  way  she 
offended  the  elegant  Lord  Ranelagh,  who  was  then 
swaggering  about  in  the  Spanish  cloak  he  had  worn  in 
the  Carlist  Wars.  Lola  was  strong  enough  to  swim  in 
the  maelstrom.  Independence  and  adversity  brought 
out  the  latent  force  in  the  character  of  the  "  good  little 
thing  "  of  Simla.  Instead  of  looking  out  for  a  refuge, 
she  sought  a  career. 

She  turned,  of  course,  towards  the  stage,  the  one 
profession  in  Early  Victorian  times  that  offered  any 
promise  to  an  ambitious  woman.  She  took  more  pains 
to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  her  art  than  are  deemed 
necessary  by  most  beautiful  aspirants  nowadays.  She 
studied  under  Miss  Fanny  Kelly,  a  gifted  actress,  who 
had  distinguished  herself  by  her  efforts  to  improve  the 
social  status  of  her  profession,  and  who  had  opened  a 
dramatic  school  for  women  adjacent  to  what  is  now  the 
Royalty  Theatre.  Lola  describes  Miss  Kelly  as  a  lady 
as  worthy  in  the  acts  of  her  private  life  as  she  was  gifted 
in  genius.  This  opinion  was  shared  by  all  the  con- 
temporaries of  the  venerable  actress.  In  after  years 
Mr.  Gladstone  thought  fit  to  recognise  her  services  to 
the  theatre  by  a  royal  grant  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  but  the  money  arrived  in  time  only  to  be  ex- 
pended on  a  memorial  over  her  grave  in  the  dismal 

40 


London  in  the  'Forties 

cemetery  at  Brompton.  Since  Lola  was  a  friend  of  Miss 
Kelly,  she  must  have  been  very  far  from  being  the 
depraved  character  she  is  represented  by  some. 

With  all  the  goodwill  in  the  world,  the  experienced 
mistress  could  not  make  an  actress  of  her  beautiful 
pupil,  who  accordingly  determined  to  approach  the 
stage  through  a  back-door.  If  talent  of  the  intellectual 
order  was  denied  her,  she  could  fall  back  on  her  physical 
advantages.  She  determined  to  become  a  dancer.  She 
was  instructed  for  four  months  by  a  Spanish  professor, 
and  then  (so  she  assures  us)  underwent  a  further  training 
at  Madrid.  It  was  now  that  she  assumed  the  name  of 
Lola  Montez — so  soon  to  be  known  throughout  Europe. 
She  passed  herself  off  as  a  Spaniard,  partly,  no  doubt, 
for  professional  reasons,  and  partly  to  conceal  her 
identity  with  the  wife  of  Captain  James.  Society  can 
hardly  expect  its  quarry  to  step  out  into  the  open  to  be 
shot  at.  Her  beauty  and  her  dancing  so  impressed 
Benjamin  Lumley,  the  experienced  director  of  Her 
Majesty's  Theatre,  that  it  was  on  his  stage  that  she 
actually  made  her  first  appearance. 

The  morning  papers  of  Saturday,  3rd  June  1843, 
announced  accordingly  that  between  the  acts  of  the 
opera  {II  Barbiere  di  Seviglia),  Donna  [sic]  Lola  Montez, 
of  the  Teatro  Real,  Seville,  would  make  her  first  appear- 
ance in  this  country,  in  the  original  Spanish  dance,  "  El 
Olano."  Attracted  by  this  advertisement,  a  critic,  who 
afterwards  wrote  under  the  pseudonym  of  "  Q.,"  called 
at  the  theatre,  and  was  presented  to  the  debutante. 
In  her  he  recognised  a  lady  living  opposite  his  lodgings 
in  Grafton  Street,  Mayfair,  who  had  long  been  the  object 
of  his  silent  adoration.  He  dwells  on  her  extreme 
vivacity,  on  her  brilliancy  of  conversation,  and  on  her 

41 


Lola  Montez 

foreign  accent,  which  struck  him  as  assumed.     She  was 
persuaded  to  give  a  rehearsal  for  his  special  benejfit. 

"  At  that  period,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  her  figure 
was  even  more  attractive  than  her  face,  lovely  as 
the  latter  was.  Lithe  and  graceful  as  a  young  fawn, 
every  movement  that  she  made  seemed  instinct  with 
melody  as  she  prepared  to  commence  the  dance.  Her 
dark  eyes  were  blazing  and  flashing  with  excitement, 
for  she  felt  that  I  was  wilhng  to  admire  her.  In  her 
pose,  grace  seemed  involuntarily  to  preside  over  her 
limbs  and  dispose  their  attitude.  Her  foot  and  ankle 
were  almost  faultless.  Nadaud,  the  violinist,  drew  the 
bow  across  his  instrument,  and  she  began  to  dance. 
No  one  who  has  seen  her  will  quarrel  with  me  for  saying 
that  she  was  not,  and  is  not,  a  finished  danseuse,  but 
all  who  have  will  as  certainly  agree  with  me  that  she 
possesses  every  element  which  could  be  required,  with 
careful  study  in  her  youth,  to  make  her  eminent  in 
her  then  vocation.  As  she  swept  round  the  stage,  her 
slender  waist  swayed  to  the  music,  and  her  graceful 
neck  and  head  bent  with  it,  hke  a  flower  that  bends 
with  the  impulse  given  to  its  stem  by  the  changing 
and  fitful  temper  of  the  wind."  ^ 

On  that  eventful  June  evening,  then,  manager,  critics, 
not  least  of  all  Lola  herself,  confidently  looked  forward 
to  a  striking  success.  The  house  was  crowded,  and 
many  notabilities  were  present.  There  were  the  King 
of  Hanover,  the  Queen-Dowager,  the  Duchess  of  Kent, 
and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cambridge.  There  was 
also  Lola's  old  enemy,  my  Lord  Ranelagh,  who  with  a 
party  of  friends  occupied  one  of  the  two  omnibus-boxes 
— an  admirable  point  from  which  to  examine  the  ankles 
and  calves  of  the  long-skirted  ballet-girls.     When  the 

1  "  You  have  Heard  of  Them,"  New  York,   1854. 
42 


London  in  the  'Forties 

curtain  rose  in  the  entr'acte,  b.  Moorish  chamber  was 
revealed.  On  either  side  stood  a  damsel,  gazing  ex- 
pectantly towards  the  draped  entrance  at  the  back  of 
the  stage.  A  moment  later  and  there  glided  through 
this  a  figure  enveloped  in  a  mantilla.  One  of  the  hand- 
maids snatched  away  this  drapery,  and  the  commanding 
form  of  Donna  Lola  Montez  was  revealed  in  all  its 
glory- 

"  And  a  lovely  picture  it  is  to  contemplate  !  There 
is  before  you  the  perfection  of  Spanish  beauty — the 
tall,  handsome  person,  the  full,  lustrous  eye,  the  joyous, 
animated  face,  and  the  intensely  raven  hair.  She  is 
dressed,  too,  in  the  brightest  of  colours  :  the  petticoat 
is  dappled  with  flaunting  tints  of  red,  yellow,  and  violet, 
and  its  showy  diversities  of  hue  are  enforced  by  the 
black  velvet  bodice  above,  which  confines  the  bust 
with  an  unscrupulous  pinch.  Presently  this  Audalusian 
Papagena  lifts  her  arms,  and  the  sharp,  merry  crack 
of  the  castanets  is  heard.  She  has  commenced  one  of 
the  merry  dances  of  her  nation,  and  many  a  piquant 
grace  does  she  unfold."  ^ 

The  audience  are  bewitched,  enraptured.  The  stage 
is  strewn  with  bouquets.  Suddenly  from  the  right 
omnibus-box  comes  the  surprised  exclamation  :  "  Why, 
it's  Betty  James  !  "  Lord  Ranelagh  has  recognised  the 
woman  who  rebuffed  him,  and  hurriedly  whispers  to  his 
friends.  Above  the  applause  from  stalls  and  gallery, 
there  is  heard  on  the  stage,  at  least,  a  prolonged  and 
ominous  hiss.  My  lord's  friends  in  the  opposite  box  act 
upon  the  hint,  and  the  hissing  grows  louder  and  more 
insistent.  The  body  of  the  audience,  knowing  nothing 
about  the  matter,  conclude  that  the  dancer  cannot  know 

^Morning  Herald,  8th  June   1843. 

43 


Lola  Montez 

her  business,  and  presently  begin  to  hiss,  too.  In  ten 
minutes  more  the  curtain  comes  down  upon  her,  and 
Lola's  career  as  a  dancer  is  terminated  in  England. 

Lord  Ranelagh  had  had  his  revenge.  This  species 
of  blackguardism  was  only  too  common  in  those  days. 
The  notorious  Duke  of  Brunswick  that  same  year  had 
gone  with  his  attorney,  Mr.  Vallance,  and  a  party  of 
friends,  to  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  hooting  down  an  actor,  Gregory,  who  took 
the  part  of  Faust.  He  succeeded  in  his  design,  and 
bragged  about  it  afterwards.  In  Early  Victorian  times 
the  theatre  was  completely  under  the  thumb  of  certain 
aristocratic  sets.  The  exasperated  Lumley  was  power- 
less to  resist  the  fiat  of  these  gilded  snobs.  Lola  Montez, 
they  insisted,  must  never  appear  on  his  stage  again. 
He  obeyed.  The  Press  was  very  far  from  imitating  his 
subserviency.  The  Era  and  Morning  Herald  praised  the 
new  danseuse  in  what  seem  to  us  extravagant  terms,  and 
deliberately  ignored  the  inglorious  denouement  of  her 
performance.  Indeed,  but  for  the  pen  of  "  Q."  we 
might  be  left  to  share  the  surprise  expressed  at  her 
disappearance  by  the  Illustrated  London  News,  which, 
ironically  perhaps,  suggested  that  the  votaries  of  what 
might  be  called  the  classical  dance  had  set  their  faces 
against  the  national. 

Lola  herself  was  under  no  misapprehension  as  to  the 
cause  and  authors  of  her  defeat.  She  wrote  to  the 
Era  on  13th  June,  protesting  passionately  against  a 
report  that  was  being  circulated  to  the  effect  that  she 
had  long  been  known  in  London  as  a  disreputable 
character.  "  She  positively  asserted  that  she  was  a 
native  of  Seville,  and  had  never  before  been  in  London. 
She  complains  of  the  cruel  calumnies  that  had  got 

44 


London  in  the  'Forties 

abroad  concerning  her,  and  says  that  she  has  instructed 
her  lawyer  to  prosecute  their  utterers.  Of  course,  the 
greater  part  of  this  statement  was  untrue,  but  she  had 
her  back  against  the  wall,  and  with  their  reputation, 
social  and  professional,  and  means  of  livelihood  at  stake, 
few  women  would  have  acted  otherwise.  My  own  view 
is  that  after  her  affair  with  Lennox,  Lola  tried  hard 
"  to  keep  straight,"  and  made  powerful  enemies  in 
consequence.  The  alliance  of  Pecksniff  and  Sir  Mulberry 
proved  too  strong  for  her. 


45 


VII 

WANDERJAHRE 

London,  then,  was  closed  to  Lola.  She  was  recognised, 
and  for  the  divorced  wife  of  Lieutenant  James  there  were 
no  prospects  of  a  career.  Her  defeat  determined  her  to 
aim  higher,  not  lower,  as  most  women  would  have  done. 
In  the  English  country  towns  she  would  have  been  quite 
unknown,  and  might  have  earned  a  modest  competence. 
But  her  experience  of  Montrose  and  Meath  did  not 
predispose  her  towards  the  provincial  atmosphere. 
Devoting  England  and  its  serpent  seed  to  the  infernal 
gods,  she  took  wing  to  Brussels.  So  rapidly  were  her 
preparations  made  that  when  "  Q."  called  the  very 
morning  after  the  "  frost  "  at  Her  Majesty's  at  her 
apartments  in  Grafton  Street,  he  found  her  gone — none 
knew  whither.  We  must  feel  sorry  for  our  anonymous 
friend,  for  it  is  evident  from  his  confessions  that  Lola's 
blue  eyes  had  bored  a  big  hole  in  his  heart.  He  consoled 
himself  for  her  loss  by  writing  (I  suspect)  some  of  the 
flattering  notices  on  her  performance  to  which  reference 
has  been  made. 

It  is  impossible  to  trace  his  enchantress's  movements 
in  their  proper  sequence  during  the  next  nine  or  ten 
months  (June  1843  to  March  1844).  We  find  her  at 
Brussels,  Berlin,  Dresden,  Warsaw,  and  St.  Petersburg 

47 


Lola  Montez 

She  reached  the  Belgian  capital  practically  with  an 
empty  purse.  She  afterwards  said  ^  that  she  went 
there  partly  because  she  had  not  enough  money  where- 
with to  go  to  Paris,  partly  because  she  hoped  to  make 
her  way  on  to  The  Hague.  She  proposed  to  lay  siege 
to  the  heart  of  his  Dutch  Majesty  William  II.,  then  a 
man  fifty-one  years  of  age.  She  had,  quite  probably, 
met  his  son,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  was  visiting 
Lord  Auckland  about  the  time  she  was  at  Simla,  and 
had  heard  tales  in  Calcutta  about  the  Dutch  Court. 
The  House  of  Orange  has  not  been  fortunate  in  its 
domestic  relations.  It  is  said  that  during  the  last  king's 
first  experience  of  wedlock,  the  heads  of  chamberlains 
often  intercepted  the  books  aimed  by  the  Royal  spouses 
at  each  other,  while  the  whole  palace  re-echoed  with  the 
slamming  of  doors  and  the  crash  of  crockery.  WiUiam 
II.,  though  not  possessed  of  the  reputation  of  his  son 
and  grandson,  the  celebrated  "  Citron,"  was  known  to 
be  on  bad  terms  with  his  Russian  wife,  Anna  Pavlovna. 
He  seemed  to  Lola  a  promising  subject  for  the  exercise 
of  her  powers  of  fascination.  The  design,  if  she  ever 
really  entertained  it,  was  not  one  that  moralists  could 
applaud,  but  in  extenuation  it  must  be  urged  that  Lola's 
late  defeat  could  not  have  encouraged  her  to  persevere 
in  the  path  of  virtue.  However,  the  Dutch  project  came 
to  nothing,  and  the  display  of  our  heroine's  statecraft 
was  reserved  for  another  capital  and  another  day. 

In  Brussels  she  found  herself  friendless  and  penniless. 
She  was  reduced  to  singing  in  the  streets  to  save  herself 
from  starvation — she  who  only  four  years  before  had 
been  borne  from  the  stately  Indian  Court  enthroned  on 

1  "  An  Englishman  in  Paris,"  1892.  The  author  of  this  book  was 
A.  D.  Vandam,  who  could  not  have  had  this  from  Lola  personally, 
seeing  that  he  was  born  in  1842. 

48 


Wanderjahre 

the  Viceroy's  elephant  !  Her  distress  is  rather  to  the 
credit  of  her  reputation,  for  it  would  have  been  easy 
enough  for  so  beautiful  a  woman  to  have  found  a 
wealthy  protector  in  the  Belgian  capital.  She  was 
noticed  by  a  man,  whom  she  believed  to  be  a  German, 
who  took  her  with  him  to  Warsaw.  "  He  spoke  many 
languages,"  says  Lola,  "  but  he  was  not  very  well  off 
himself.  However,  he  was  very  kind,  and  when  we  got 
to  Warsaw,  managed  to  get  me  an  engagement  at  the 
Opera. "1  I  cannot  help  wishing  that  Lola  had  given 
us  some  account  of  a  journey  that  must  have  been 
performed  in  a  carriage  right  across  Central  Europe 
from  Belgium  to  Poland. 

Warsaw  in  1844  must  have  been  as  cheerless  a  spot 
as  any  in  Europe.  The  great  insurrection  of  1831  had 
been  suppressed  with  ruthless  severity  by  the  soldiers 
of  the  Tsar,  and  there  was  not  a  family  of  rank  in  the 
city  that  was  not  mourning  for  some  one  of  its  members 
who  had  passed  beyond  the  ken  of  its  living,  into  dread 
Siberia.  Order  reigned  at  Warsaw,  indeed,  in  its 
conqueror's  famous  phrase,  but  it  was  order  obtained 
only  with  the  knout  and  the  bayonet.  The  Polish 
language  was  barely  tolerated,  the  Catholic  religion 
proscribed.  Women,  half-naked,  were  publicly  flogged 
for  their  attachment  to  their  faith,  school-boys  and 
school-girls  sent  to  perish  beyond  the  Urals.  The 
seciet  service  ramified  through  every  grade  of  society. 
Fathers  distrusted  their  sons,  husbands  feared  to 
discover  in  their  own  wives  the  tools  of  the  Muscovite 
Government.  To  this  day  Poles  are  seldom  free  from 
the  nightmare  of  the  Russian  spy.  The  present  writer 
remembers  how,  some  years  ago,  at  Bern,  in  the  capital  of 

*  Vandam,    "  An  Englishman  in  Paris." 

49 


Lola  Montez 

a  free  republic,  a  Polish  medical  man  refused,  with  every 
symptom  of  apprehension,  to  discuss  the  condition  of  his 
country  within  the  longest  ear-shot  of  a  third  party. 

Yet  unhappy  Warsaw,  under  the  heel  of  the  terrible 
Paskievich,  could  be  coaxed  into  a  smile  by  the  flashing 
eyes  of  the  new  Andalusian  dancer.  Her  beauty 
enraptured  the  Poles,  and  drew  from  one  of  their  dramatic 
critics  the  following  elaborate  panegyric  : — 

"  Lola  possesses  twenty-six  of  the  twenty-seven 
points  on  which  a  Spanish  writer  insists  as  essential 
to  feminine  beauty — and  the  real  connoisseurs  among 
my  readers  will  agree  with  me  when  I  confess  that 
blue  eyes  and  black  hair  appear  to  me  more  ravishing 
than  black  eyes  and  black  hair.  The  points  enumerated 
by  the  Spanish  writer  are  :  three  white — the  skin,  the 
teeth,  the  hands  ;  three  black — the  eyes,  eye-lashes, 
and  eyebrows  ;  three  red — the  lips,  the  cheeks,  the 
nails  ;  three  long — the  body,  the  hair,  the  hands  ; 
three  short — the  ears,  the  teeth,  the  legs  ;  three  broad — 
the  bosom,  the  forehead,  the  space  between  the  eye- 
brows ;  three  full — the  lips,  the  arms,  the  calves ; 
three  small — the  waist,  the  hands,  the  feet ;  three  thin 
— the  fingers,  the  hair,  the  lips.  All  these  perfections 
are  Lola's,  except  as  regards  the  colour  of  her  eyes, 
which  I  for  one,  would  not  wish  to  change.  Silky  hair, 
rivalling  the  gloss  of  the  raven's  wing,  falls  in  luxuriant 
folds  down  her  back  ;  on  the  slender,  delicate  neck, 
whose  whiteness  shames  the  swan's  down,  rests  the 
beautiful  head.  How,  too,  shall  I  describe  Lola's 
bosom,  if  words  fail  me  to  describe  the  dazzling  white- 
ness of  her  teeth  ?  What  the  pencil  could  not  portray, 
certainly  the  pen  cannot. 

"  '  Vedeansi  accesi  entro  le  gianci  belle 
Dolci  fiamme  di  rose  e  di  rubini, 
E  nel  ben  sen  per  entro  un  mar  di  latte 
Tremolando  nutar  due  poma  intatte.' 
50 


Wanderjahrc 

"  Lola's  little  feet  hold  the  just  balance  between 
the  feet  of  the  Chinese  and  French  ladies.  Her  fine, 
shapely  calves  are  the  lowest  rungs  of  a  Jacob's  ladder 
leading  to  Heaven,  She  reminds  one  of  the  Venus  of 
Knidos,  carved  by  Praxiteles  in  the  104th  Olympiad. 
To  see  her  eyes  is  to  be  satisfied  that  her  soul  is  throned 
in  them.  .  .  .  Her  eyes  combine  the  varying  shades  of 
the  sixteen  varieties  of  forget-me-not.  ..." 

And  so  forth,  and  so  on. 

It  is  indisputable  that  in  this,  her  twenty-sixth  year, 
Lola  was  extremely  beautiful.  Her  bitterest  detractors 
have  never  denied  her  the  possession  of  almost  magical 
loveliness.  This  was  informed  by  sparkling  vivacity, 
and  a  force  of  personality,  without  which  we  should 
never  have  heard  the  name  of  Lola  Montez.  A  human 
masterpiece  of  this  sort  is  as  much  a  source  of  trouble 
in  a  community  as  a  priceless  diamond.  Everyone's 
cupidity  is  excited,  probity  and  honour  melt  away  in 
the  fierce  heat  of  temptation.  The  upright  think  that 
here  at  last  is  a  prize  worth  the  sacrifice  of  all  the 
standards  that  have  hitherto  guided  them.  St.  Anthony, 
after  forty  years  of  sainthood,  succumbs — and  is  glad 
that  he  does.  Even  miserable  Poland  for  a  moment 
forgot  her  woes  when  she  looked  on  Lola  ;  and  her 
stern  conqueror,  the  terrible  Paskievich,  felt  a  new 
spring  pervading  his  grim,  sixty-year-old  frame.  He, 
the  master  of  many  legions,  he  at  whose  frown  a  nation 
paled — why  should  he  not  grasp  this  treasure  ?  Who 
should  say  him  nay  ? 

I  will  let  Lola  tell  the  story  in  her  own  words. 

"  While  Lola  Montez  was  on  a  visit  to  Madame 
Steinkiller  the  wife  of  the  principal  banker  of  Poland, 

51 


Lola  Montez 

the  old  viceroy  sent  to  ask  her  presence  at  the  palace 
one  morning  at  eleven  o'clock.  She  was  assured  by 
several  ladies  that  it  would  be  neither  politic  nor  safe 
to  refuse  to  go  ;  and  she  did  go  in  Madame  Steinkiller's 
carriage,  and  heard  from  the  viceroy  a  most  extraordin- 
ary proposition.  He  offered  her  the  gift  of  a  splendid 
country  estate,  and  would  load  her  with  diamonds 
besides.  The  poor  old  man  was  a  comic  sight  to  look 
upon — unusually  short  in  stature,  and  every  time  he 
spoke,  he  threw  back  his  head  and  opened  his  mouth 
so  wide  as  to  expose  the  artificial  gold  roof  of  his  palate. 
A  death's-head  making  love  to  a  lady  could  not  have 
been  a  more  disgusting  or  horrible  sight.  These  gener- 
ous gifts  were  most  respectfully  and  very  decidedly 
declined.  But  her  refusal  to  make  a  bigger  fool  of 
one  who  was  already  fool  enough  was  not  well  received. 

[This,  I  take  it,  is  the  only  instance  of  the  word  fool 
being  applied  to  one  of  the  ablest,  if  most  ruthless,  men 
Russia  has  ever  produced.] 

"  In  those  countries  where  political  tyranny  is 
unrestrained,  the  .social  and  domestic  tyranny  is  scarcely 
less  absolute. 

"  The  next  day  His  Majesty's  tool,  the  colonel  of 
the  gendarmes  and  director  of  the  theatre,  called  at 
her  hotel  to  urge  the  suit  of  his  master. 

"  He  began  by  being  persuasive  and  argumentative, 
and  when  that  availed  nothing,  he  insinuated  threats, 
when  a  grand  row  broke  out,  and  the  madcap  ordered 
him  out  of  her  room. 

"  Now  when  Lola  Montez  appeared  that  night  at 
the  theatre,  she  was  hissed  by  two  or  three  parties 
who  had  evidently  been  instructed  to  do  so  by  the 
director  himself.  The  same  thing  occurred  the  next 
night  ;  and  when  it  came  again  on  the  third  night, 
Lola  Montez,  in  a  rage,  rushed  down  to  the  footlights, 
and  declared  that  those  hisses  had  been  set  at  her  by 

52 


Wanderjahre 

the  director,  because  she  had  refused  certain  gifts  from 
the  old  prince,  his  master.  Then  came  a  tremendous 
shower  of  applause  from  the  audience  ;  and  the  old 
princess,  who  was  present,  both  nodded  her  head  and 
clapped  her  hands  to  the  enraged  and  fiery  Lola. 

"  Here,  then,  was  a  pretty  muss.  An  immense 
crowd  of  Poles,  who  hated  both  the  prince  and  the  direc- 
tor, escorted  her  to  her  lodgings.  She  found  herself 
a  heroine  without  expecting  it,  and  indeed  without 
intending  it.  In  a  moment  of  rage  she  had  told  the 
whole  truth,  without  stopping  to  count  the  cost,  and  she 
had  unintentionally  set  the  whole  of  Warsaw  by  the  ears. 

"  The  hatred  which  the  Poles  intensely  felt  towards 
the  government  and  its  agents  found  a  convenient 
opportunity  of  demonstrating  itself,  and  in  less  than 
twenty-four  hours  Warsaw  was  bubbling  and  raging 
with  the  signs  of  an  incipient  revolution.  When  Lola 
Montez  was  apprised  of  the  fact  that  her  arrest  was 
ordered,  she  barricaded  her  door  ;  and  when  the  police 
arrived  she  sat  behind  it  with  a  pistol  in  her  hand, 
declaring  that  she  would  certainly  shoot  the  first  man 
dead  who  should  break  in.  The  police  were  frightened, 
or  at  least  they  could  not  agree  among  themselves  who 
should  be  the  martyr,  and  they  went  off  to  inform 
their  masters  what  a  tigress  they  had  to  confront,  and 
to  consult  as  to  what  should  be  done.  In  the  meantime, 
the  French  Consul  gallantly  came  forward  and  claimed 
Lola  Montez  as  a  French  subject,  which  saved  her 
from  immediate  arrest ;  but  the  order  was  peremptory 
that  she  must  quit  Warsaw." 

I  have  no  means  of  verifying  this  account.  Riots 
were  of  frequent  occurrence  in  Warsaw  during  the  'forties, 
but,  thanks  to  a  rigid  censorship  of  the  Press,  the 
particulars  concerning  them  have  failed  to  reach  us. 
That  the  citizens  would  at  once  side  with  any  one  who 
for  any  reason  whatsoever  was  "  agin  the  Government  " 
is  not  to  be  doubted,  and  Lola  was  quite  clever  enough 

53 


Lola  Montez 

to  make  a  slight  to  her  appear  as  an  insult  to  the  Warsaw 
public.  In  defending  herself  with  the  pistol,  she  only 
gave  proof  of  the  manlike  courage  and  resolution 
conspicuous  throughout  her  whole  career.  As  to  the 
cause  of  the  row,  one  of  Lola's  recent  biographers 
remarks  that  if  Prince  Paskievich  had  made  the  offer 
alleged,  it  is  quite  certain  that  she  would  have  closed 
with  it.  It  is  far  from  being  certain.  The  Russian 
Viceroy  was  definitely  repugnant  to  her,  and  her  sub- 
sequent experiences  show  that  she  never  bestowed  herself 
upon  a  man  whom  she  could  not,  or  did  not,  love.  She 
was  new,  too,  to  her  rdle  of  adventuress.  Altogether, 
there  is  no  good  reason  for  doubting  that  Lola's  relation 
of  her  experiences  in  the  Polish  capital  is  substantially 
true. 

On  the  other  hand,  vanity  certainly  betrayed  her  into 
several  deviations  from  the  truth  in  her  reminiscences  of 
St.  Petersburg.  She  went  thither,  she  informs  us, 
upon  her  expulsion  from  Poland — an  odd  refuge  !  Of 
her  journey  in  a  caleche  across  the  wastes  of  Lithuania 
and  through  the  dark  forests  of  Muscovy ;  of  St. 
Petersburg,  still  half  an  Oriental  city,  where  all  men 
below  the  rank  of  nobles  wore  the  long  beard  and  caftan 
of  the  Asiatic — our  raconteuse  has  nothing  to  say.  She 
introduces  us  at  once  to  the  Tsar  and  the  innermost 
arcanum  of  his  Court. 

"  Nicholas  was  as  amiable  and  accomplished  in 
private  life  as  he  was  great,  stern,  and  inflexible  as  a 
monarch.  He  was  the  strongest  pattern  of  a  monarch 
of  this  age,  and  I  see  no  promise  of  his  equal,  either  in 
the  incumbents  or  the  heirs-apparent  of  the  other 
thrones  of  Europe," 

Lola,  we  see,  speaks  as  an  authority  on  crowned 

54 


NICHOLAS  I. 


Wanderjahre 

heads.  In  her  estimate  of  Nicholas  I.  she  seems  to 
have  forgotten  the  repubhcan  principles  she  generally 
professed.  The  Tsar  was,  no  doubt,  the  most  command- 
ing figure  of  his  time,  and  Russia's  influence  in  the 
counsels  of  Europe  has  never  since  had  as  much  weight 
as  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  reign.  His  fine  proportions, 
as  much  as  his  strength  of  character,  probably  excited 
Lola's  admiration,  and  blinded  her  to  defects,  physical 
and  temperamental,  which  did  not  escape  the  notice  of 
more  keen-eyed  critics.  She  did  not  see  that  the  auto- 
crat's majestic  demeanour  was  a  pose,  that  his  stern, 
hawk-like  glance  was  deliberately  cultivated,  and  that 
he  had  only  three  expressions  of  countenance,  all  put 
on  at  will.  Horace  Vernet,  who  knew  Nicholas  well, 
was  firmly  convinced  that  he  was  not  wholly  sane. 
As  to  his  amiability  in  private  life,  he  is  said  to  have 
been,  like  many  tyrants,  a  good  husband,  and  he  often 
condescended  to  take  tea  with  his  nurse,  "  a  decent 
Scotch  body."  It  was  to  this  respectable  exile  that  the 
members  of  the  imperial  family  owed  that  fluent  and 
colloquial  English,  which  often  as  much  astonished  as 
gratified  our  countrymen.  It  is  recorded  that  one  of  the 
Grand  Dukes  genially  accosted  the  British  chaplain  at 
St.  Petersburg  with  the  enquiry  :  "  God  damn  your 
eyes,  and  how  the  devil  are  you  ?  " — language,  very 
properly  remarks  an  Early  Victorian  writer,  which  no 
man  on  earth  had  the  right  to  address  to  a  person  in 
Holy  Orders. 

The  Tsar  himself  was  better  bred.  His  relations  with 
Mademoiselle  Montez  were  characterized  by  politeness 
and  liberality.  Not  only  he,  but  his  right-hand  man, 
the  astute  Livonian,  Benkendorf ,  held  the  lady's  political 
acumen  in  high  esteem.     While  she  and  the  Emperor 

55 


Lola  Montez 

and  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  were  in  a  somewhat 
private  chat  about  vexatious  matters  connected  with 
Caucasia,  airily  relates  Lola,  a  humorous  episode 
occurred. 

"  It  was  suddenly  announced  that  the  superior 
officers  of  the  Caucasian  army  were  without,  desiring 
audience.  The  very  subject  of  the  previous  conversa- 
tion rendered  it  desirable  that  Lola  Montez  should  not 
be  seen  in  conference  with  the  Emperor  and  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior  ;  so  she  was  thrust  into  a  closet,  and  the 
door  locked.  The  conference  between  the  officers  and 
the  Emperor  was  short  but  stormy.  Nicholas  got 
into  a  towering  rage.  It  seemed  to  the  imprisoned 
Lola  that  there  was  a  whirlwind  outside  ;  and  womanly 
curiosity  to  hear  what  it  was  about  [did  she  then  under- 
stand Russian  ?  ],  joined  with  the  great  difficulty  of 
keeping  from  coughing,  made  her  position  a  strangely 
embarrassing  one.  But  the  worst  of  it  was,  in  the 
midst  of  this  grand  quarrel  the  parties  all  went  out  of 
the  room,  and  forgot  Lola  Montez,  who  was  locked  up 
in  the  closet.  For  a  whole  hour  she  was  kept  in  this 
durance  vile,  reflecting  upon  the  somewhat  confined 
and  cramping  honours  she  was  receiving  from  Royalty, 
when  the  Emperor,  who  seems  to  have  come  to  himself 
before  Count  Benkendorf  did,  came  running  back  out 
of  breath,  and  unlocked  the  door,  and  not  only  begged 
pardon  for  his  forgetfulness,  in  a  manner  which  only 
a  man  of  his  accomplished  address  could  do,  but  pre- 
sented the  victim  with  a  thousand  roubles,  saying 
laughingly  :  '  I  have  made  up  my  mind  whenever  I 
imprison  any  of  my  subjects  unjustly,  I  will  pay  them 
for  their  time  and  suffering.'  And  Lola  Montez  an- 
swered him  :  '  Ah,  sire,  I  am  afraid  that  rule  will  make 
a  poor  man  of  you.'  He  laughed  heartily,  and  replied  : 
'  Well,  I  am  happy  in  being  able  to  settle  with  you, 
anyhow.'  " 

Lola  makes  here  a  rather  heavy  draft  on  the  reader's 

56 


Wanderjahre 

credulity.  However,  from  the  nice  things  she  has  to 
say  about  His  Imperial  Majesty,  it  is  clear  that  she  had 
been  admitted  at  one  time  or  another  to  his  presence. 
Had  not  Nicholas  I.  been  a  pattern  of  the  domestic 
virtues,  we  might  have  attributed  his  embarrassment  at 
Lola's  being  discovered  in  his  closet,  and  the  donation 
of  the  thousand  roubles,  to  reasons  entirely  unconnected 
with  the  Caucasus.  After  all,  Lola  may  have  argued, 
if  she  had  been  courted  by  a  king,  why  should  she  not 
have  been  consulted  by  an  emperor  ? 

Before  or  after  her  visit  to  St.  Petersburg  the  dancer 
saw  the  Tsar  at  Berlin.  Mounted  on  a  fiery  Cordovan 
barb,  she  was  among  the  spectators  at  a  review  given 
by  King  Frederick  William  in  honour  of  his  imperial 
guest.  The  horse  was  scared  by  the  firing,  and  bolted, 
carrying  its  rider  straight  into  the  midst  of  the  Royal 
party.  Lola  was  not  sorry  to  find  herself  in  such  com- 
pany, but  a  gendarme  struck  at  her  horse  and  endeavoured 
to  drive  it  away.  An  insult  of  this  sort  Lola  was  the 
last  woman  to  tolerate.  Raising  her  whip,  she  slashed 
the  policeman  across  the  face.  Out  of  respect  for  the 
Royal  party,  the  incident  was  allowed  to  end  there,  for 
the  moment  ;  but  the  next  day  the  dancer  was  waited 
upon  with  a  summons.  She  instantly  tore  the  docu- 
ment to  pieces,  and  threw  them  into  the  face  of  the 
process-server.  Such  contempt  for  the  law  might  have 
been  attended  with  very  serious  consequences,  but 
Lola  went,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  scot-free.  Perhaps  her 
friends  in  high  places  interceded  for  her  ;  but  it  is  hard 
to  believe,  as  she  afterwards  declared,  that  the  gendarme 
came  to  her  lodgings  to  sue  for  her  pardon. ^     In  every 

^  De  Mirecourt  {Contemporains)  fixes  the  date  of  this  episode  in 
1843,  and  bases  it  in  reports  in  the  Constitutionnel,  which  I  have  been 
unable  to  trace. 

57 


Lola  Montez 

capital  of  Europe  it  soon  became  known  that  the  beauti- 
ful vSpanish  dancer  was  able  and  prepared  to  defend 
herself  against  the  most  determined  antagonists  of 
either  sex. 

But  a  nobler  quarry  than  Tsar  and  Viceroy  was  now 
to  fall  before  the  shafts  from  Lola's  eyes. 


58 


VIII 


FRANZ   LISZT 


In  the  year  1844  Franz  Liszt  may  be  considered  to  have 
reached  the  zenith  of  his  fame.  In  the  two-and-twenty 
years  that  had  elapsed  since  his  first  triumph,  when  a 
lad  of  eleven,  at  Vienna,  the  young  Hungarian  had  taken 
pride  of  place  before  all  the  pianists  of  his  day.  The 
crown  still  rested  securely  on  his  brow,  despite  the 
formidable  rivalry  of  Thalberg.  Paris,  London,  Berlin, 
St.  Petersburg,  Rome,  and  Milan  had  in  turn  felt  his 
spell,  and  rapturously  acclaimed  him  the  king  of  melody. 
Honours  and  wealth  poured  in  upon  him.  The  magnates 
of  his  native  land — the  proudest  of  all  aristocracies — 
presented  him  with  a  sword  of  honour.  The  monarchs 
of  Europe  publicly  recognised  the  lofty  genius  of  one 
whom  they  knew  to  be  no  friend  of  theirs.  For  Liszt, 
the  devotee  of  later  years,  glowed  then  with  generous  en- 
thusiasm for  freedom,  political  and  religious.  Frederick 
William  sent  him  diamonds,  and  he  pitched  them 
into  the  wings ;  the  Tsar  found  him  unabashed  and 
contemptuous  ;  the  Kings  of  Bavaria  and  Hanover  he 
scorned  to  invite  to  his  concerts  ;  before  Isabel  II.  he 
refused  to  play  at  all,  because  Spanish  Court  etiquette 
forbade  his  personal  introduction  to  her.  The  Catholic 
Church,  he  wrote,  knew  only  curse  and  ban.     He  was 

59 


Lola  Montez 

the  friend  of  Lamennais.  The  bourgeois — the  PhiHstine, 
as  we  should  call  him  now — he  held  in  greater  abhorrence 
even  than  the  tyrant.  In  Louis  Philippe  he  saw  bour- 
geoisie enthroned.  Yet  the  King  of  the  French  courted 
the  man  whose  empire  was  more  stable  than  his  own. 
He  reminded  the  pianist  of  a  former  meeting  when  the 
one  was  but  a  boy,  and  the  other  only  Duke  of  Orleans. 
"  Much  has  changed  since  then,"  said  the  Citizen-King. 
"  Yes,  sire,  but  not  for  the  better  !  "  bluntly  replied 
the  artist. 

In  1844  Europe  was  more  liberal  in  some  respects 
than  America  is  to-day.  Honours  and  applause  were 
not  denied  to  Liszt  because  he  openly  transgressed  the 
sex  conventions.  Since  1835  his  life  had  been  shared 
by  the  beautiful  Comtesse  d'Agoult,  the  would-be  rival, 
under  the  name  "  Daniel  Stern,"  of  the  more  celebrated 
Georges  Sand.  Of  this  union  were  born  three  children, 
one  of  whom  became  the  wife  of  Richard  Wagner. 
Madame  d'Agoult  was  a  Romanticist,  and  a  very  typical 
figure  of  her  time  and  circle.  She  was  an  interesting 
woman,  and  tried  hard  to  be  more  interesting  still. 
But  it  was  no  affectation  of  passion  that  led  her  to 
abandon  home,  husband,  and  position,  to  throw  herself 
into  the  pianist's  arms  at  Basle.  She  was  deeply  in 
love  with  him  ;  but  she  wished  to  be  more  than  a  wife, 
more  than  a  lover  :  she  aspired  to  be  his  muse.  Liszt, 
however,  needed  no  inspiration  from  without.  In  an 
oft-quoted  phrase,  he  said  that  the  Dantes  created  the 
Beatrices  ;  "  the  genuine  die  when  they  are  eighteen 
years  old."  The  man  chafed  more  and  more  under  the 
ties  that  bound  him.  He  had  no  wish  to  abandon  the 
mother  of  his  children,  but  his  genius  demanded  to  be 
unfettered.     He  wandered  over  Europe,  sad  and  bitter 

60 


FRANZ     LISZT. 


Franz  Liszt 

at  heart,  but  heaping  up  his  laurels.  The  Comtesse  and 
the  children  stayed  in  Paris,  or  at  the  villa  Liszt  had 
rented  on  the  beautiful  islet  of  Nonnenwerth,  in  the 
shadow  of  "  the  castled  crag  of  Drachenfels."  There 
he  joined  them  from  time  to  time,  while  unable  to  resist 
the  conclusion  that  he  and  she  must  part.  The  evolution 
of  their  temperaments  and  intellects  was  in  rapidly 
diverging  directions.  He  was  no  longer  willing  to  throw 
himself  out  of  the  window  at  her  bidding  as  he  had 
publicly  declared  himself  to  be  four  years  before.  The 
cord  that  bound  them  was  frayed  and  fretted  to  a 
thread. 

At  Dresden  fate  threw  Liszt  and  Lola  Montez  across 
each  other's  path.  The  intense,  artistic  nature  of  the 
man  cried  out  with  joy  at  the  glorious  beauty  of  the 
woman.  Her  inextinguishable  vivacity,  her  almost 
masculine  boldness,  her  frank  and  splendid  animalism 
enraptured  the  musician,  now  sick  to  death  of  soulful 
conversations  and  the  sentimentalities  of  Romanticism. 
It  was  the  old  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  artist, 
waged  by  Silvia  and  Gioconda.  Lola  was  beautiful  as 
a  tigress.  To  Liszt  she  could  surrender  herself  proudly. 
She  was  one  of  those  erotic  women,  whose  passion  is 
excited  rather  by  a  man's  mental  attributes  than  by  his 
physical  advantages.  Intellect  she  adored.  Her  own 
strong  nature  could  yield  only  to  a  stronger.  We  have 
heard  how  she  spoke  of  Nicholas  I.  ;  we  shall  find  this 
almost  sensuous  craving  for  force  of  personality  m  her 
subsequent  relations.  To  her,  the  pianist  must  have 
been  a  new  revelation  of  manhood.  Her  life  so  far  had 
brought  her  in  contact  with  Indian  of&cers  and  civilians, 
a  few  men  about  town,  and  (for  a  few  hours)  with  one  or 
more  potentates.     Now  she  met  a  great  man  with  a 

6i 


Lola  Montez 

beautiful  soul.  She  had  heard  the  stories  current  of 
Liszt's  abnegation,  his  boundless  generosity,  his  pride 
in  his  vocation.  In  her,  too,  he  recognised  a  haughty 
intolerance  of  patronage,  a  contempt  for  those  in  high 
places,  such  as  he  had  himself  exhibited.  Both  could 
laugh  over  the  slights  to  which  they  had  subjected  the 
King  of  Prussia,  and  their  demeanour  in  presence  of  the 
mighty  Tsar.  It  is  likely  enough  that  their  conversation 
may  have  begun  in  some  such  fashion  ;  how  their  love 
ripened  we  are  left  to  guess.  On  this  episode  in  her 
history  Lola  exhibits  unwonted  reserve.  She  mentions 
meeting  Liszt  at  Dresden,  and  speaks  of  the  furore  he 
created.  As  to  their  love  passages,  she  is  silent.  I  like 
to  think  that  this  was  a  secret  she  held  sacred,  that  her 
love  for  the  great  musician  had  in  it  something  fresh  and 
noble,  which  distinguished  it  from  the  emotions  excited 
in  her  by  all  other  men.  Women  of  many  attachments 
are  prone  to  idealise  one  among  them. 

The  world  was  bound  by  no  such  scruples.  The 
rumour  ran  from  capital  to  capital  that  Liszt  was 
enthralled  by  the  Andalusian.  It  reached  the  Comtesse 
d'Agoult  in  her  retreat  at  Nonnenwerth.  She  penned  a 
fierce,  reproachful  letter.  Liszt,  in  Calypso's  grotto  at 
Dresden,  answered  proudly  and  coldly.  The  Comtesse 
wrote,  announcing  the  end  of  their  relations.  Most 
men  are  frightened  at  the  abrupt  termination  of  a 
love  affair  of  which  they  have  long  been  heartily  weary. 
Liszt  gave  the  Comtesse  time  to  think  it  over.  She  made 
no  further  overtures,  expecting  that  he  would  come  to 
kneel  at  her  feet.  He  did  not.  The  lady  went  to  Paris, 
and  they  never  met  again. 

The  artist  at  least  owed  Lola  a  service,  since  she  had 
been  the  unwitting  instrument  of  a  rupture  so  long 

62 


Franz  Liszt 

desired  by  him.  But  he  valued  his  newly-recovered 
freedom  too  highly  to  jeopardise  it  by  linking  his  life 
again  with  a  woman's.  His  love  affair  with  Lola  may 
have  been  simply  an  infatuation.  Lucio  would  soon 
have  tired  of  Gioconda  had  he  lived  with  her.  We 
hardly  know  how  this  brief  love  story  began  ;  we  are 
quite  in  the  dark  as  to  how  it  ended.  A  report  was 
current  that  the  two  travelled  together  from  Dresden 
to  Paris,  where  both  appeared  in  the  spring  of  '44. 
We  do  not  hear  that  they  were  seen  together  in  the 
French  capital,  so  the  adieux  may  already  have  been 
exchanged.  Liszt  stayed  there  but  a  few  weeks,  and 
then  started  on  a  tour  through  the  French  departments. 
Then  he  crossed  the  Pyrenees,  and  pushed  as  far  south 
as  Gibraltar.  Less  than  three  years  later  he  was  in  the 
toils  of  a  third  woman — the  Princess  Zu  Sayn- Witt- 
gen  stein,  with  whom  his  relations  endured  twelve  years. 
It  is  noteworthy  that  he  and  Lola  turned  their  thoughts 
from  love  to  religion  almost  at  the  same  time,  though 
half  a  world  lay  between  them. 

Of  the  third  actor  in  this  little  drama  it  is  hardly 
within  my  province  to  speak.  The  Comtesse  d'Agoult 
found  consolation  in  the  care  of  her  children  and  in 
those  wider  interests  of  which  she  never  tired.  She 
ardently  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Revolution  in  1848. 
More  fortunate  than  her  old  lover,  she  never  lost  the 
sane  and  generous  sympathies  of  her  youth.  You  may 
read  her  Souvenirs,  published  at  Paris  the  year  after  her 
death  (1877).  Liszt  long  survived  the  women  who  had 
loved  him — not  a  fate  that  either  of  them  would  have 
envied  him. 


63 


IX 

AT  THE  BANQUET  OF  THE  IMMORTALS 

Lola's  first  appearance  in  Paris  was,  like  her  dehut 
at  Her  Majesty's,  a  fiasco.  Thanks,  no  doubt,  to  her 
reputation  for  beauty  and  audacity,  she  secured  an 
engagement  at  the  Opera,  then  under  the  management 
of  Leon  Pillet.  The  power  behind  the  throne  was  the 
great  Madame  Stoltz,  who  some  years  later  was  to  be 
hooted  off  the  stage  by  a  hostile  clique  just  as  Lola  had 
been  nine  months  before.  At  that  time,  however,  no 
one  dreamed  of  a  revolt  against  the  all-powerful  cantatrice 
whose  favour  the  danseuse  was  fortunate  to  procure. 
The  great  Stoltz  looked  best  and  was  luckiest  in  men's 
parts,  and  therefore  saw  no  rival  in  the  now  famous 
"  Andalouse." 

Lola,  accordingly,  made  her  bow  to  the  Parisian 
public  on  Saturday,  30th  March  1844,  in  II  Lazzarone, 
an  opera  in  two  acts  by  Halevy.  Her  audience  was  more 
fastidious  than  the  playgoers  of  Dresden  and  Warsaw. 
Her  beauty  ravished  them,  but  in  her  dancing  they  saw 
little  merit.  Seeing  this,  Lola  made  a  characteristic 
bid  for  their  favour.  Her  satin  shoe  had  slipped  off. 
Seizing  it,  she  threw  it  with  one  of  her  superb  gestures 
into  the  boxes,  where  it  was  pounced  upon  and  bran- 
dished as  a  precious  relic  by  a  gentleman  of  fashion. 

65 


Lola  Montez 

The  manoeuvre  seems  to  have  succeeded  in  its  object, 
for  the  Constitutionnel  next  morning  found  it  necessary 
to  warn  young  dancers  against  the  danger  of  factitious 
applause,  while  "  abstaining  from  criticising  too  severely 
a  pretty  woman  who  had  not  had  time  to  study  Parisian 
tastes."     Theophile  Gautier  was  less  gallant : — 

"  We  are  reluctant,"  he  writes,  "  to  speak  of  Lola 
Montes,  who  reminds  us  by  her  Christian  name  of  one 
of  the  prettiest  women  of  Granada,  and  by  her  surname 
of  the  man  who  excited  in  us  the  most  powerful  dramatic 
emotions  we  have  ever  experienced — Montes,  the  most 
illustrious  espada  of  Spain.  The  only  thing  Anda- 
lusian  about  Mile.  Lola  Montes  is  a  pair  of  magnificent 
black  eyes.  She  gabbles  Spanish  very  indifferently, 
French  hardly  at  all,  and  English  passably  \sic\.  Which 
is  her  country  ?  That  is  the  question.  We  may  say 
that  Mile.  Lola  has  a  little  foot  and  pretty  legs.  Her 
use  of  these  is  another  matter.  The  curiosity  excited 
by  her  adventures  with  the  northern  police,  and  her 
conversations,  a  coups  de  cravache,  with  the  Prussian 
gens  d'armes,  has  not  been  satisfied,  it  must  be  admitted. 
Mile.  Lola  Montes  is  certainly  inferior  to  Dolores  Serrai, 
who  has,  at  least,  the  advantage  of  being  a  real  Spaniard, 
and  redeems  her  imperfections  as  a  dancer  by  a  volup- 
tuous abandon,  and  an  admirable  fire  and  precision  of 
rhythm.  We  suspect,  after  the  recital  of  her  equestrian 
exploits,  that  Mile.  Lola  is  more  at  home  in  the  saddle 
than  on  the  boards." 

As  at  Her  Majesty's,  so  at  the  Opera.  Lola's  first 
appearance  was  her  last.  For  the  rest  of  the  year,  as 
far  as  I  can  learn,  she  was  out  of  an  engagement.  She 
had,  no  doubt,  made  some  money  during  her  German 
and  Russian  tour,  and  Liszt  would  not  have  forgotten 
he  when  he  started  on  his  southern  tour  at  the  end  of 
April. 

66 


At  the  Banquet  of  the  Immortals 

If  her  association  with  him  had  begotten  in  Lola 
Montez  a  thirst  for  wit  and  genius,  she  had  every  chance 
of  slaking  it  in  Paris.  There  were  giants  on  the  earth 
in  those  days,  and  they  were  all  gathered  together  on  the 
banks  of  the  Seine.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  since 
the  Medici  ruled  in  Florence,  no  capital  has  boasted  so 
brilliant  an  assemblage  of  men  of  genius  as  did  Paris  under 
the  paternal  government  of  July.  In  the  year  '44, 
Victor  Hugo,  attended  by  a  score  of  minor  poets,  daily 
appeared  on  his  balcony  to  acknowledge  the  homage 
of  the  public  ;  Lamartine  was  dividing  his  attention 
between  politics  and  literature.  Alfred  de  Musset  was 
wrecking  his  constitution  by  spasms  of  debauchery, 
Balzac  was  dodging  his  creditors,  playing  truant  from 
the  National  Guard,  and  finding  time  to  write  his 
"  Comedie  Humaine  "  ;  Theophile  Gautier,  a  man  of 
thirty-three,  if  he  had  not  yet  received  the  full  meed  of 
his  genius,  was  already  well  known  and  widely  appre- 
ciated. Alexandre  Dumas  had  long  since  become  a 
national  institution,  and  his  son  was  looking  out  for 
copy  among  the  ladies  of  the  demi-monde.  Delphine 
Gay  was  writing  her  brilliant  "  Lettres  Parisiennes  " 
for  her  husband's  newspaper.  The  Salon  was  still 
rejecting  the  masterpieces  of  Delacroix,  but  Vernet  was 
painting  the  ceiling  of  the  Palais  Bourbon.  Auber, 
though  past  the  prime  of  life,  had  not  yet  scored  his 
greatest  success.  Paris  was  like  Athens  in  the  age  of 
Pericles. 

Life  was  really  worth  living  then,  when  Louis  Phillippe 
was  king.  He  was  an  honest,  kindly-natured  man, 
this  pear-headed  potentate,  who  reigned,  "  comme  la 
corniche  regne  autour  d'un  plafond."  He  was  the  king 
of  the  bourgeois,  and  he  looked  it  every  inch,  with  his 

67 


Lola  Montez 

white  felt  hat  and  respectable  umbrella  ;  but  in  the  calm 
sunshine  of  his  reign  the  arts  flourished  and  the  world 
was  gay.  Those  days  before  the  Revolution  remind 
us  of  that  strange  picture  in  our  National  Gallery,  "  The 
Eve  of  the  Deluge."  Paris,  as  the  old  stagers  regretfully 
assure  us,  was  Paris  then,  and  not  the  caravanserai  of 
all  the  nations  of  the  world.  The  good  Americans  who 
died  then,  had  they  gone  to  Paris,  would  have  thought 
they  had  reached  the  wrong  destination.  Men  of 
Pontus  and  Asia  had  not  then  made  the  French  capital 
their  own.  The  invasion  of  the  Barbarians,  says  Gustave 
Claudin,  took  place  in  1848.  They  came,  not  conducted 
by  Attila,  but  by  the  newly-constructed  railways.  As 
these  strangers  had  plenty  of  money  to  spend,  they 
naturally  sought  the  most  fashionable  quarters. 

"  The  true  Parisians  disappeared  in  the  crowd,  and 
knew  not  where  to  find  themselves.  In  the  evening, 
the  restaurants  where  they  used  to  dine,  the  stalls 
and  boxes  where  they  used  to  assist  at  the  opera  and 
the  play,  were  taken  by  assault  by  cohorts  of  sight- 
seers wishing  to  steep  themselves  up  to  the  neck  in 
la  vie  Parisienne." 

The  tide  of  the  invasion  has  never  diminished  in 
volume,  and  the  true  Parisian  has  become  extinct. 

In  the  year  1844  the  fine  flower  of  Parisian  society 
was  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  Boulevard — the 
quarter  between  the  Opera  and  the  Rue  Drouot. 

"  By  virtue  of  a  selection  which  no  one  contested," 
says  the  author  just  quoted,  "  nobody  was  tolerated 
there  who  could  not  lay  claim  to  some  sort  of  distinc- 
tion or  originality.  There  seemed  to  exist  a  kind  of 
invisible  moral  barrier,   closing  this  area  against  the 

68 


At  the  Banquet  of  the  Immortals 

mediocre,  the  insipid,  and  the  insignificant,  who  passed 
by,  but  did  not  Hnger,  knowing  that  their  place  was  not 
there." 

The  headquarters  of  the  noble  company  of  the 
Boulevard  was  the  famous  Cafe  de  Paris,  at  the  corner 
of  the  Rue  Taitbout.  Dumas,  Balzac,  and  Alfred  de 
Musset  were  to  be  seen  there  twice  or  thrice  a  week  ; 
the  eccentric  Lord  Seymour,  founder  of  the  French 
Jockey  Club,  had  his  own  table  there.  Lola,  doubtless, 
often  tasted  the  unsurpassed  cuisine  of  this  celebrated 
restaurant,  for  she  soon  penetrated  into  the  circle  of 
the  Olympians,  and  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of 
the  Boulevard. 

She  met  Claudin  (who  indeed  knew  everybody). 

"  Lola  Montez,"  he  says,  "  was  an  enchantress. 
There  was  about  her  something  provoking  and  volup- 
tuous which  drew  you.  Her  skin  was  white,  her  wavy 
hair  like  the  tendrils  of  the  woodbine,  her  eyes  tameless 
and  wild,  her  mouth  like  a  budding  pomegranate. 
Add  to  that  a  dashing  figure,  charming  feet,  and  perfect 
grace.  Unluckily,"  the  notice  concludes,  "  as  a  dancer 
she  had  no  talent." 

That  multiple  personality  whom  Vandam  embodies 
in  "  An  Englishman  in  Paris  "  admits  that  Lola  was 
naturally  graceful,  that  her  gait  and  carriage  were  those 
of  a  duchess.  When  he  goes  on  to  say  that  her  wit  was 
that  of  a  pot-house,  I  seem  to  detect  one  of  his  not 
infrequent  lapses  from  the  truth.  Only  three  years  had 
elapsed  since  Lola  had  shone  in  Court  circles  in  India, 
where  the  social  atmosphere  was  not  that  of  a  bar-room  ; 
and  since  then  she  had  been  wandering  about  in  countries 
where  her  ignorance  of  the   language  must  have  left 

69 


Lola  Montez 

her  manner  of  speech  and  modes  of  thought  almost 
unaffected.  Pot-house  wit  would  not  have  fascinated 
Liszt,  nor  the  fastidious  Louis  of  Bavaria.  "  Men  of 
far  higher  intellectual  attainments  than  mine,  and 
familiar  with  very  good  society,"  admits  our  nebulous 
chronicler,^  "  raved  and  kept  raving  about  her." 

Dumas,  he  says  in  another  place,  was  as  much  smitten 
with  her  as  her  other  admirers.  This,  of  course,  is  no 
guarantee  of  her  refinement,  for  the  genial  Creole  had 
the  reputation  of  not  being  over  nice  in  his  attachments 
and  amours.  He  was  then  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  may 
be  considered  to  have  just  reached  the  zenith  of  his 
fame  by  the  publication  of  "  Les  Trois  Mousquetaires," 
"  Monte  Cristo,"  and  "  La  Reine  Margot  "  (1844-5). 
Two  years  before  he  had  formally  and  legally  married 
Mademoiselle  Ida  Ferrier — this  step,  so  inconsistent 
with  his  temperament  and  mode  of  life,  having  resulted 
from  his  own  reckless  disregard  of  the  conventions. 
The  lady  had  fascinated  him  while  she  was  interpreting 
a  fole  of  his  creation  at  the  Porte-St. -Martin.  It  did 
not  strike  him  that  it  would  be  irregular  to  take  her  with 
him  to  a  ball  given  by  his  patron,  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
and  he  straightway  did  so.  "  Of  course,  my  dear 
Dumas,"  said  His  Highness  affably,  "  it  is  only  your 
wife  that  you  would  think  of  presenting  to  me."  Poor 
Alexandre,  the  lover  of  all  women  and  none  in  par- 
ticular, was  hoisted  with  his  own  petard.  A  prince's 
hints,  above  all  when  he  is  your  patron  and  publisher, 
are  commands.  Dumas  was  led  to  the  altar,  like  a  sheep 
to  the  slaughter,  by  the  charming  Ida.  Chateaubriand 
supported  the  bridegroom  through  the  ordeal.     However 

1  All  the  statements  made  concerning  Lola  in  "  An  Englishman  in 
Paris  "  must  be  received  with  caution,  as  they  can  only  be  taken  at 
the  best  as  hearsay  evidence  transcribed  by  Vandam. 

70 


■%_"*„. 


ALEXANDRE    DUMAS,    SENIOR. 


At  the  Banquet  of  the  Immortals 

the  chains  of  matrimony  sat  hghtly  on  the  irrepressible 
romancier.  Madame  Dumas  soon  after  departed  for 
Florence,  greatly  to  the  relief  of  her  spouse.  He  was 
hving,  at  the  time  of  Lola's  visit  to  Paris,  at  the  Villa 
Medicis  at  St.  Germain.  There  he  could  superintend 
the  building  of  his  palace  of  Monte  Cristo,  on  the  road 
to  Marly,  apart  of  which,  with  imperturbable  sang-froid, 
he  actually  raised  on  the  land  belonging  to  a  neighbour, 
without  so  much  as  a  "  by  your  leave."  This  ambitious 
residence  emptied  Dumas's  pockets  of  the  little  money 
that  the  ladies  he  loved  had  left  in  them. 

Alexandre,  of  course,  fell  passionately  in  love  with 
Lola  Montez.  We  need  no  written  assurance  of  that. 
We  read  that  he  told  her  that  she  had  acted  "  like  a 
gentleman  "  in  her  treatment  of  Frederick  William's 
policemen,  and  with  what  far-fetched  compliments  he 
followed  up  this  commendation  it  is  easy  to  imagine. 
There  were  certain  resemblances  in  their  temperaments, 
though  the  woman  was  far  the  stronger.  Posterity 
is  never  likely  to  agree  on  an  estimate  of  Dumas's 
character.  Theodore  de  Banville  thought  him  a  truly 
great  man. 

"  Dumas,"  he  wrote,  "  had  no  more  need  to  husband 
his  strength  and  his  vitality  than  a  river  has  to  econo- 
mise with  its  waters,  and  it  seemed,  in  fact,  that  he 
held  in  his  strong  hands  inexhaustible  urns,  whence 
flowed  a  stream  always  clear  and  limpid.  In  what 
formidable  metal  had  he  been  cast  ?  Once  he  took  it 
into  his  head  to  take  his  son,  Alexandre,  to  the  masked 
ball  of  Grades,  at  the  Barriere  Montparnasse,  and, 
attired  as  a  postilion,  the  great  man  danced  all  night 
without  resting  for  a  moment,  and  held  women  with  his 
outstretched  arm,  like  a  Hercules.  When  he  returned 
home   in    the  morning,  he  found    that    his   postilion's 

71 


Lola  Montez 

breeches  had,  through  the  swelHng  of  the  muscles, 
become  impossible  to  remove ;  so  Alexandre  was 
obliged  to  cut  them  into  strips  with  a  penknife.  After 
that  what  did  the  historian  of  the  Mousquetaires  do  ? 
Do  you  think  he  chose  his  good  clean  sheets  or  a  warm 
bath  ?  He  chose  work  !  And  having  taken  some 
bouillon,  set  himself  down  before  his  writing  paper, 
which  he  continued  to  fill  with  adventures  till  the 
evening,  with  as  much  '  go  '  and  spirit  as  if  he  had  come 
from  calm  repose. 

"  Nature  has  given  up  making  that  kind  of  man  ; 
by  way  of  a  change,  she  turns  out  poets,  who,  having 
composed  a  single  sonnet,  pass  the  rest  of  their  lives 
contemplating  themselves  and — their  sonnets." 

Prodigious  I  It  is  gratifying  to  think  that  this  in- 
defatigable worker  had  always  two  sincere  admirers — 
himself  and  his  son.  The  latter,  it  is  true,  would  have 
his  joke  at  the  former's  expense.  "  My  father,"  re- 
marked the  son,  "is  so  vain  that  he  would  be  ready  to 
hang  on  to  the  back  of  his  own  carriage,  to  make  people 
believe  he  kept  a  black  servant."  Notwithstanding, 
the  two  loved  each  other  tenderly.  Innumerable 
anecdotes  bear  witness  to  the  paternal  fondness  of  the 
one,  the  filial  devotion  of  the  other.  Yet  their  relation 
was  more  that  of  two  sworn  friends,  as  is  so  touchingly 
expressed  in  these  lines  from  the  "  Pere  Prodigue  "  : — 

"...  I  have  sought  your  affection,  more  than  your 
obedience  and  respect.  ...  To  have  all  in  common, 
heart  as  well  as  purse,  to  give  and  to  tell  each  other 
everything,  such  has  been  our  device.  We  have  lost, 
it  seems,  several  hundred  thousands  of  francs  ;  but 
this  we  have  gained — the  power  of  counting  always 
on  one  another,  thou  on  me,  I  on  thee,  and  of  being 
ready  always  to  die  for  each  other.  That  is  the  most 
important  thing  between  father  and  son." 

72 


At  the  Banquet  of  the  Immortals 

These  are  the  words  of  Frenchmen.  An  Enghshman 
would  have  put  such  language  into  the  mouths  of  hus- 
band and  wife. 

Enjoying  the  friendship  of  Dumas  pere,  Lola  no 
doubt  had  the  privilege  of  meeting  Alexandre  junior. 
The  young  man  was  then  in  his  twenty-first  year,  and 
had  piled  up  debts  to  the  respectable  total  of  fifty 
thousand  francs.  It  was  just  about  this  time,  as  has 
been  said,  that  he  turned  his  attention  to  literature. 
He  found  "  copy  "  for  his  most  celebrated  work  in  the 
pale,  flower-like  courtesan,  Alphonsine  Plessis,  who 
shared  with  Lola  the  devotion  of  the  erotic  Boulevard. 
The  two  were  women  of  very  different  stamp.  The 
Irish  woman  confronted  the  world  with  head  erect  and 
flashing  eyes  ;  the  Lady  of  the  Camellias,  with  a  blush 
and  trembling  lips.  They  were  typical  of  two  great 
classes  of  women  :  those  who  rule  men,  and  those  whom 
men  rule.  The  loved  of  the  God  of  Love  died  young. 
After  Alphonsine's  early  death,  the  fair  Parisiennes 
flocked  to  her  apartments,  as  to  the  shrine  of  some  patron 
saint,  and  touched,  as  though  they  were  precious  relics, 
her  jewellery  and  trinkets,  her  lingerie,  and  her  slippers. 


73 


X 

MERY 

Another  most  delightful  friend  had  Lola — he  whom  she 
refers  to  in  her  autobiography  as  "  the  celebrated  poet, 
Mery."  To  describe  this  charming  and  impossible 
personage  as  a  poet,  is  to  indicate  only  one  department 
of  his  genius  :  as  a  dramatist  he  was  not  far  inferior 
to  his  great  contemporaries,  as  a  novelist  he  revealed 
an  amazing  power  of  paradox,  and  a  bewildering  fertility 
of  imagination.  He  wrote  descriptions  of  countries  he 
had  never  seen  (though  he  had  travelled  far),  which, 
by  their  accuracy  and  colour,  deceived  and  delighted 
the  very  natives.  He  was  not  merely  rich  ir^  rhymes, 
said  Dumas,  he  was  a  millionaire.  He  could  write,  too, 
in  more  serious  vein,  and  was  a  profound  and  ardent 
classicist. 

In  1845  Mery  was  approaching  his  half-century. 
Thirty  years  before  he  had  come  to  Paris  from  Marseilles 
in  hot  pursuit  of  a  pamphleteer  who  had  dared  to 
attack  him.  He  found  time  to  cross  swords  with 
somebody  else,  and  got  the  worst  of  the  encounter. 
As  a  result  he  took  a  voyage  to  Italy  for  the  benefit 
of  his  health.  His  adventures  remind  us  alternatively 
of  those  of  Brantome  and  Benvenuto  Cellini.  At  a 
later  period  he  was  associated  with  Barthelemy  in  an 

75 


Lola  Montez 

intrigue  for  the  restoration  of  the  Bonapartes ;  and 
went  to  pay  his  respects  to  Queen  Hortense,  while 
his  colleague  vainly  endeavoured  to  talk  with  the 
Eaglet  through  the  gilded  bars  of  his  cage. 

Mery  could,  in  short,  do  everything,  and  everything 
very  well.  He  possessed  the  faculty  of  turning  base 
metal  into  gold.  Geese  in  his  eyes  became  swans,  and 
in  every  lump  of  literary  coke  he  saw  a  diamond  of  the 
purest  ray.  It  was,  above  all,  in  his  dramatic  criticism, 
remarks  De  Banville,  that  this  faculty  produced  the 
most  surprising  results. 

"  One  day,  reading  in  Mery's  review  the  pretended 
recital  of  a  comedy  of  which  I  was  the  author,  I  could 
not  but  admire  its  gaiety,  grace,  unexpected  turns, 
and  happy  confusion,  and  I  said  to  myself :  '  Ah,  if 
only  this  comedy  were  really  the  one  I  VvTote  \  '  " 

On  another  occasion,  says  the  poet,  at  the  theatre, 

"  he  said  to  me  :  '  What  a  superb  drama  !  ' — and  he 
was  perfectly  right.  The  play,  as  he  described  it  to 
me,  was,  in  fact,  superb,  only  unfortunately  it  had 
been  entirely  reconstructed  by  Mery  on  the  absurd 
foundation  imagined  by  Mr.  *  *  *  .  The  denouement 
he  invented — for  though  the  third  act  was  not  finished, 
he  spoke  of  the  fifth  as  an  old  acquaintance — was  of 
such  tragic  power  and  daring  originality,  that  after 
hearing  him  expound  it,   I  had  no  desire  to  witness 

J^j.^     4:  *  *  'g  " 

Reviewers  and  dramatic  critics  of  this  kind  are  now, 
unhappily,  rare. 

These  few  anecdotes  sufficiently  justify  De  Banville's 
claim  that  Mery  was  something  altogether  unheard  of 

76 


Mery 

and  fabulously  original.  He  should  have  been  (and 
probably  was)  the  happiest  of  men,  and  his  peculiar 
powers  must  have  lightened  his  critical  labours  as  much 
as  they  benefited  those  he  criticised.  He  was  as 
incapable  of  envy  as  Dumas  was  of  rancour.  Certainly 
no  more  lovable  and  agreeable  creature  ever  haunted 
the  slopes  of  Parnassus. 

I  doubt  if  such  men  would  be  appreciated  in  our 
society.  Ours  is  the  reign  of  the  glum  Boeotian.  We 
know  not  how  to  converse,  and  wits  are  as  dead  as 
kings'  jesters.  There  is  no  scholarship  in  our  senate, 
and  the  standard  of  oratory  there  would  not  have 
satisfied  an  Early  Victorian  debating  society.  If  we 
talk  less,  assuredly  we  do  not  think  the  more.  Every 
social,  political,  and  religious  idea  that  occupies  our  dull 
brains  had  entered  into  the  consciousness  of  the  men  of 
the  'forties.  They  thought  quickly  and  talked  bril- 
liantly. Their  young  men  were  youths — full  of  fire, 
enthusiasm,  love,  and  fun.  They  did  not  talk  about  the 
advantages  of  devotion  to  business  in  early  life.  They 
were  not  born  tired.  Wonderful,  too,  as  it  may  seem, 
people  in  those  days  used  to  like  to  meet  each  other  in 
social  converse,  and  were  not  ashamed  to  admit  it. 
It  was  not  then  fashionable  to  affect  a  disinclination 
for  society — the  handiest  excuse  for  an  inability  to  talk 
and  to  think.  Lola  Montez  learned  in  Paris  what  was 
meant  by  the  joie  de  vivre.  In  '45  wit  was  at  the  prow 
and  pleasure  at  the  helm. 


77 


XI 

DUJARIER 

As  an  artiste,  Lola  was  naturally  anxious  to  conciliate 
the  Press,  which  had  not  spoken  too  kindly  of  her  first 
performance  on  the  Paris  stage.  Gautier's  unflattering 
notice  had  appeared  in  one  of  the  most  influential 
newspapers — La  Presse.  This  journal  was  under  the 
direction  of  the  famous  De  Girardin,  the  Harmsworth 
of  his  generation.  Till  ist  July  1836  the  lowest  annual 
subscription  to  any  newspaper  in  Paris  was  eighty 
francs  ;  on  that  day  De  Girardin  issued  the  first  number 
of  La  Presse  at  a  subscription  of  forty  francs  a  year. 
This  startling  reduction  in  the  price  of  news  excited, 
of  course,  no  little  animosity,  but  its  successful  results 
were  immediately  manifest.  The  daring  journalist's 
next  innovation  was  the  creation  of  the  feuilleton. 
The  new  paper  prospered  exceedingly,  though  it  repre- 
sented the  views  of  the  editor  rather  than  those  of  any 
large  section  of  the  public.  In  1840  De  Girardin  acquired 
a  half  of  the  property,  the  other  being  held  by  Monsieur 
Dujarier,  who  assumed  the  functions  of  literary  editor. 
In  1845  Dujarier  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-nine, 
a  writer  of  no  mean  ability,  and  a  smart  journalist.  He 
was  well  known  to  all  the  Olympians  of  the  Boulevard, 
and  entered  with  zest  into  the  gay  life  of  Paris.     Lola 

79 


Lola  Montez 

became  acquainted  with  him  soon  after  her  arrival  in 
the  capital,  probably  in  an  effort  to  win  the  paper  over 
to  her  side.  He  spent,  she  tells  us,  almost  every  hour 
he  could  spare  from  his  editorial  duties  with  her,  and  in 
his  society  she  rapidly  ripened  in  a  knowledge  of  politics. 
But  before  her  political  education  had  proceeded  far, 
the  woman's  beauty  and  the  man's  wit  had  produced  the 
effect  that  might  have  been  looked  for.  "  They  read 
no  more  that  day" — Lola  and  Dujarier  loved  each  other. 

"  This,"  continues  our  heroine,  "  was  in  autumn  [the 
autumn  of  '44],  and  the  following  spring  the  marriage 
was  to  take  place,"  I  fancy  the  word  "  marriage  " 
is  introduced  here  out  of  respect  for  the  susceptibilities 
of  the  American  public.  The  Old  Guard  of  the  Boule- 
vard, in  Louis  Philippe's  golden  reign,  sefianga  mais  ne  se 
maria  pas.  Besides,  Lola  was  still  legally  the  wife 
of  that  remote  and  forgotten  officer,  Captain  James. 
"  It  was  arranged  that  Alexandre  Dumas  and  the 
celebrated  poet,  Mery,  should  accompany  them  on 
their  marriage  tour  through  Spain."  Dumas,  Mery, 
and  Lola,  to  say  nothing  of  Dujarier,  travelling  together 
through  Andalusia — here  would  have  been  a  gallant 
company  indeed,  with  which  one  would  have  gladly 
made  a  voyage  even  to  Tartarus  and  back  !  The  narra- 
tive, too,  of  the  journey  would  have  permanently 
enriched  literature.  But  the  scheme  has  gone,  these 
sixty  years,  to  the  cloudy  nether-world  of  glorious 
dreams  unrealized. 

The  success  of  De  Girardin's  newspaper  had  intensely 
embittered  his  competitors,  who  made  it  the  object  of 
venomous  attack.  The  founder  dipped  his  pen  in  gall 
and  acid,  and  his  sword  in  the  blood  of  his  enemies. 
He  fought  four  duels,  and  having  killed  Armand  Carrel, 

80 


Dujarier 

sheathed  his  rapier.  But  he  did  not  lay  aside  his  pen, 
which  was  even  more  dreaded.  Dujarier  proved  an 
apt  pupil,  and  by  his  command  of  irony  and  sarcasm 
at  last  attracted  to  himself  as  much  hatred  and  jealousy 
as  his  senior.  The  special  rival  of  his  paper  was  the 
Globe,  edited  by  Monsieur  Granier  de  Cassagnac,  a 
journalist  of  the  type  we  now  denominate  yellow.  He 
had  at  one  time  been  on  the  staff  of  La  Presse,  to  which 
he  remained  financially  indebted.  Dujarier  came  across 
the  debit  notes  signed  by  him,  and  obtained  a  judgment 
against  him.  The  exasperation  of  the  Globe  knew  no 
bounds.  The  editor  may  be  conceived  addressing  to 
his  satellites  the  reproaches  used  by  Henry  II.  :  "Of 
those  that  eat  my  bread,  is  there  none  that  will  rid  me 
of  this  pestilent  journalist  ?  "  The  appeal  was  responded 
to  by  his  wife's  brother,  Monsieur  Jean  Baptiste 
Rosemond  de  Beauvallon,  a  Creole  from  Guadeloupe, 
then  in  his  twenty-fifth  year.  He  was  dramatic  critic 
to  the  Globe,  and  in  this  capacity  his  acquaintance  was 
sought  by  Lola.  Dujarier  naturally  objected  to  this, 
and  his  interference  was  not  forgiven  by  his  journalist 
rival.  The  two  men  seemed  doomed  to  cross  each 
other's  path.  There  was  a  certain  Madame  Albert,  with 
whom  Dujarier  had  been  on  terms  of  intimacy  for 
some  years.  In  December  1844  he  ceased  to  visit  her, 
probably  for  no  other  reason  than  that  he  had  transferred 
his  affections  to  Lola.  As  it  happened,  however,  De 
Beauvallon  made  the  lady's  acquaintance  at  this 
moment,  and  she  spitefully  suggested  that  Dujarier 
had  discontinued  relations  with  her  in  order  not  to  meet 
him.  The  Creole's  score  against  the  literary  editor  of 
La  Presse  was  now  a  high  one,  and  he  embraced  his 
brother-in-law's  quarrel  with  enthusiasm. 

81 


XII 

THE  SUPPER  AT  THE  FR^RES  PROVEN9AUX 

At  the  beginning  of  March  (1845),  Lola,  despite  her 
failure  at  the  Opera,  obtained  an  engagement  at  the 
Porte-St. -Martin  Theatre  for  the  musical  comedy  La 
Biche  an  Bois.  While  she  was  rehearsing,  she  and  her 
lover  received  an  invitation  to  supper  at  the  Frferes 
Proven9aux,  a  fashionable  restaurant  in  the  Palais 
Royal.  The  party  was  to  be  composed  of  some  of  the 
liveliest  men  and  women  in  Paris,  and  none  of  those 
invited  were  over  thirty-five  years  of  age.  Lola  was 
keen  to  accept,  but  Dujarier  would  not  hear  of  her  being 
seen  in  such  a  company.  In  spite  of  her  protests  he 
decided,  however,  to  go  himself.  It  was  the  evening  of 
nth  March. 

He  found  himself  the  only  guest,  for  all  the  others 
paid  their  shares  in  the  cost  of  the  entertainment. 
The  nominal  hostess  was  Mademoiselle  Lievenne  :  "a 
splendid  person,  with  abundant  black  hair,  black  eyes 
like  a  Moorish  woman  or  Arlesienne,  dazzling  skin, 
and  opulent  figure."  There  were  also  at  the  table 
Mademoiselle  Atila  Beauchene,  Mademoiselle  Alice  Ozy, 
Mademoiselle  Virginie  Capon,  and  other  charming  ladies, 
all  styling  themselves  actresses,  and  spending  a  thousand 
francs  a  week  out  of  a  salary  of  twenty-five.     In  attend- 

83 


Lola  Montez 

ance  on  this  bevy  of  beauty  were  some  of  the  joUiest 
fellows  in  Paris.  The  oldest  and  most  distinguished 
was  Roger  de  Beauvoir,  whose  curly  black  hair,  wonder- 
ful waistcoats,  and  pearl-grey  pantaloons  made  him  the 
delight  of  the  fair  sex,  and  the  envy  of  his  fellow- 
boulevardiers.  De  Beauvallon  was  also  present,  but 
he  and  Dujarier  were  not  openly  on  bad  terms,  and 
nothing  seemed  likely  to  cloud  the  general  gaiety. 

The  fun  waxed  fast  and  furious.  Champagne  corks 
popped  in  all  directions,  toasts  were  drunk  to  everybody 
and  everything.  Dujarier  proposed  "  Monsieur  de 
Beauvoir's  waistcoat,"  followed  by  "  Monsieur  de  Beau- 
voir's  raven  locks."  The  jovial  Roger  responded  with 
the  toast  "  Friend  Dujarier's  bald  head,"  and  evoked 
roars  of  laughter  by  drinking  to  the  Memoirs  of  Count 
Montholon,  with  which  La  Presse  had  promised  to 
entertain  its  readers  for  the  last  five  years.  Dujarier 
laughed  as  loudly  as  the  others  ;  the  champagne  had 
risen  to  his  head.  He  began  to  fondle  the  girls,  and 
became  a  little  too  bold  even  for  their  taste.  "  Anais," 
he  murmured  in  an  audible  whisper  to  Mademoiselle 
Lievenne,  "  je  coucherai  avec  toi  en  six  mois."  The 
next  moment  he  realised  he  had  gone  too  far.  Recollect- 
ing himself,  he  apologised,  was  forgiven,  and  the  incident 
seemed  to  be  forgotten  by  all. 

The  remains  of  the  supper  were  removed,  curtains 
drawn  back,  and  one  side  of  the  room  left  free  for 
dancing,  while  a  card-table  occupied  the  other.  More 
people  dropped  in.  De  Beauvoir,  finding  the  literary 
editor  in  such  a  good  humour,  thought  the  moment 
opportune  to  remind  him  of  one  of  his  romances  which 
La  Presse  had  accepted  but  seemed  in  no  hurry  to 
publish.     To  worry  an  editor  about  such  a  matter  at 

84 


The  Supper  at  the  Freres  Provencaux 

such  a  moment  is  to  court  a  rebuff.  Dujarier  replied 
sharply  that  Dumas' s  novel  would  be  running  for  some 
time,  adding  that  it  was  likely  to  prove  more  profitable 
to  the  paper  than  De  Beauvoir's  serial  would  be.  Roger, 
the  best-humoured  of  men,  was  nettled  at  this  reply, 
and  said  so.  "  Good  !  do  you  seek  an  affair  with  me  ?  " 
retorted  the  editor.  "  No,  I  don't  look  for  affairs,  but 
I  sometimes  find  them,"  answered  the  author. 

It  is  clear  that  Dujarier,  like  his  mistress,  seldom  had 
his  temper  under  perfect  control.  He  took  a  hand  at 
lansquenet,  and  complained  of  the  low  limit  imposed  by 
the  banker.  Monsieur  de  St.  Aignan.  He  and  De 
Beauvallon  offered  to  share  the  bank's  risks  and  win- 
nings. This  being  agreed  to,  Dujarier  threw  down 
twenty-five  louis,  De  Beauvallon  five  and  a  half.  The 
bank  won  twice,  and  Dujarier  was  entitled  to  a  hundred 
louis.  But  St.  Aignan  had  made  the  mistake  of  under- 
stating the  amount  in  the  bank  before  the  cards  were 
dealt,  and  now,  therefore,  found  that  the  winnings  were 
not  sufficient  to  satisf};^  him  and  his  partners.  He  was 
about  to  make  good  the  deficit  at  his  own  expense,  when 
De  Beauvallon  generously  suggested  to  Dujarier  that 
they  should  share  the  loss  in  proportion  to  their  stakes. 
The  literary  editor  preferred  to  stand  upon  his  rights, 
and  seems  to  have  been  backed  up  by  the  bystanders. 
De  Beauvallon  said  nothing  more  at  the  time,  but  as  the 
candles  were  flickering  low  and  the  party  was  preparing 
to  break  up,  he  reminded  his  rival  that  he  owed  him 
(on  some  other  score)  eighty-four  louis.  Dujarier 
replied  tartly,  but  handed  him  the  seventy-five  louis  he 
had  won,  borrowed  the  odd  nine  louis  from  Collot,  the 
restaurant-keeper,  and  thus  discharged  the  debt.  He 
had  lost  on  the  whole  evening  two  thousand  five  hundred 

85 


Lola  Montez 

francs.  In  the  grey  March  dawn  his  head  became 
clearer.  He  vaguely  realised  he  had  given  deep  offence 
to  two,  at  least,  of  his  fellow  revellers.  He  returned, 
anxious  and  haggard  to  his  lodgings  in  the  Rue  Laffitte, 
where  Lola  was  eagerly  awaiting  him.  She  guessed  at 
once  that  something  was  amiss,  and  endeavoured  in 
vain  to  extract  from  him  the  cause  of  his  evident 
agitation.  Returning  evasive  answers,  the  journalist 
hurried  off  to  the  office  of  La  Presse. 


86 


XIII 


THE   CHALLENGE 


Whether  or  not  Dujarier  had  used  offensive  expres- 
sions to  De  Beauvallon  on  this  particular  occasion,  the 
opportunity  for  bringing  to  a  head  the  long-standing 
feud  between  the  two  newspapers  was  too  good  to  be 
missed. 

That  afternoon  the  literary  editor  was  waited  upon  at 
his  office  by  two  gentlemen — the  Vicomte  d'Ecquevillez, 
a  French  officer  in  the  Spanish  service,  and  the  Comte 
de  Flers.  They  informed  him  that  they  came  upon 
behalf  of  Monsieur  de  Beauvallon,  who  considered 
himself  insulted  by  the  tone  of  his  remarks  the  previous 
evening,  and  required  an  apology  or  satisfaction. 
Dujarier  affected  contempt  for  his  rival,  making  a  point 
of  mispronouncing  his  name.  He  had  no  apology  to 
offer,  and  referred  his  visitors  to  Monsieur  Arthur 
Berrand,  and  Monsieur  de  Boigne.  As  the  seconds 
withdrew  D'Ecquevillez  mentioned  that  Monsieur  de 
Beau  voir  also  considered  himself  entitled  to  satisfaction. 

The  rest  of  that  day  Lola  could  not  but  remark  the 
intense  pre-occupation  of  her  lover — that  concentration 
of  mind  that  all  men  experience  at  the  near  menace  of 
death.  On  the  battle-field  it  may  last  for  a  minute  or 
an  hour  ;    in  other  circumstances  it  may  last  for  days 

87 


Lola  Montez 

together.  Dujarier  felt  himself  already  a  dead  man. 
He  had  hardly  handled  a  pistol  in  his  life.  He  envied 
his  mistress,  who  had  often  given  him  an  exhibition  of 
her  powers  as  a  shot.  De  Beauvallon,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  known  to  be  skilled  in  all  the  arts  of  attack  and 
defence.  Nor  could  Dujarier  doubt  that  he  wished  to 
see  him  dead.  In  the  evening  Bertrand  and  De  Boigne 
arrived.  Lola  was  with  difficulty  persuaded  to  leave 
them  to  attend  her  rehearsal.  Duj  arier,  pale  and  nervous, 
discussed  the  matter  with  his  friends,  "  C'est  une 
querelle  de  boutique  !  "  he  exclaimed  bitterly,  but 
expressed  his  determination  to  proceed  with  the  affair 
if  it  cost  him  his  life.  Bertrand,  fully  alive  to  the 
gravity  of  the  situation,  sought  De  Beauvallon's  seconds, 
and  argued  that  nothing  said  by  his  principal  could  be 
considered  ground  for  an  encounter.  His  efforts  at  a 
reconciliation  were  useless.  De  Boigne  tried  to  give 
precedence  to  De  Beauvoir,  who  was  accounted  an 
indifferent  shot ;  but  that  easily  placable  author  had 
just  lost  his  mother,  and  displayed  no  anxiety  to  defraud 
De  Beauvallon  of  his  vengeance.  Seeing  the  encounter 
was  inevitable,  Bertrand  and  De  Boigne  exacted  from 
the  other  side  this  written  statement : — 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  declare  that  in  consequence 
of  a  disagreement,  Monsieur  Dujarier  has  been  challenged 
by  Monsieur  de  Beauvallon  in  terms  which  render  it 
impossible  for  him  to  decline  the  encounter.  We  have 
done  everything  possible  to  concihate  these  gentlemen, 
and  it  is  only  upon  Monsieur  de  Beauvallon  insisting 
that  we  have  consented  to  assist  them." 

This  statement  was  signed  by  all  four  seconds.  It 
left  Dujarier,  as  the  injured  party,  the  choice  of  arms. 


The  Challenge 

He  chose  the  pistol,  thinking,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  that 
as  his  adversary  was  equally  experienced  in  the  use  of 
the  rapier  and  firearms,  chance  might  possibly  favour 
him  with  the  latter. 

Lola,  while  these  negotiations  were  proceeding,  was  a 
prey  to  the  most  painful  apprehensions.  Pressed  by  her, 
Dujarier  admitted  that  he  was  about  to  engage  in  an 
affair  of  honour,  but  gave  her  to  understand  that  his 
opponent  would  be  Roger  de  Beau  voir.  Her  alarm  at 
once  subsided.  No  one  feared  Roger.  "  You  know  I 
am  a  woman  of  courage,"  she  said  ;  "if  the  duel  is  just, 
I  will  not  prevent  it." 

"Oh,  what  after  all  is  a  duel  !  "  said  her  lover  lightly, 
but  she  noticed  that  his  smile  was  forced. 

She  drove  to  the  Porte-St. -Martin ;  Dujarier,  at 
three  in  the  afternoon,  paid  a  visit  to  Alexandre  Dumas. 
He  picked  up  a  sword  that  stood  in  a  corner  of  the  room, 
and  made  a  few  passes.  "  You  don't  know  how  to 
wield  the  sword,  I  can  see,"  observed  the  novelist. 
"  Can  you  use  any  other  weapon  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  must  use  the  pistol,"  replied  the  journalist 
significantly. 

"  You  mean  you  are  going  to  fight  ?  " 

"  Yes,  to-morrow,  with  De  Beauvallon." 

Dumas  looked  grave.  "  Your  adversary  is  a  very 
good  swordsman,"  he  said.  "  You  had  better  choose 
swords.  When  De  Beauvallon  sees  how  you  handle  the 
weapon,  the  duel  will  be  at  an  end." 

He  told  Dujarier  that  Alexandre,  junior,  practised 
at  the  same  fencing-class  as  De  Beauvallon,  and  he 
strongly  urged  him  to  reconsider  the  choice  of  weapons. 
But  the  journalist  was  obstinate.  He  had  no  confidence 
in  his  opponent's  clemency,  and  he  feared  his  skill  with 

89 


Lola  Montez 

the  rapierj  With  the  pistol  there  was  always  a  chance  ; 
with  cold  steel  he  was  bound  to  be  killed.  In  vain 
Dumas  argued  that  the  sword  could  spare,  while  the 
pistol  could  slay,  even  if  the  trigger  were  pulled  by  the 
least  experienced  hand.  Dujarier  dined  with  father  and 
son.  The  friends  parted  at  nine  in  the  evening.  The 
journalist,  in  company  with  Bertrand,  went  to  a  shooting 
gallery,  where  he  tried  his  hand  at  the  pistol.  He  hit  a 
figure  as  large  as  a  man  only  twice  in  twenty  shots  ! 
Dumas  strolled  into  the  Varietes.  He  was  ill  at  ease. 
Finally  he  took  a  cab  and  drove  to  the  Rue  Laffitte. 
He  found  Dujarier  seated  at  his  bureau,  writing  his  will, 
as  it  afterwards  proved. 

Dumas  returned  to  the  question  of  weapons .  Duj  arier 
showed  a  disposition  to  avoid  the  whole  subject.  "  You 
are  only  losing  your  time,"  he  said,  "  and  that  is  valu- 
able. I  don't  want  you  to  arrange  this  affair,  mind. 
It  is  my  first  duel.  It  is  astonishing  that  I  have  not 
had  one  befoie.  It's  a  sort  of  baptism  that  I  must 
undergo." 

His  friend  questioned  him  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
proposed  encounter.  "  Lord  knows  !  "  was  the  reply, 
"  I  can  recollect  no  particular  reason.  I  don't  know 
what  I  am  fighting  about.  It's  a  duel  between  the 
Globe  and  La  Pressed  he  added,  "  not  between  Monsieur 
Dujarier  and  Monsieur  de  Beauvallon." 

Seeing  him  determined  both  to  fight  and  to  choose 
fire-arms,  Dumas  recommended  him  at  least  not  to  use 
the  hair-trigger  pistol.  To  the  novelist's  astonishment, 
Dujarier  admitted  he  did  not  know  the  difference  between 
one  kind  of  pistol  and  another.  Alexandre  said  he 
would  show  him,  and  drove  off  to  his  house  for  the 
purpose.    As  he  descended  the  stairs,  he  passed  Lola, 

90 


The  Challenge 

who  noticed  his  agitation.  Dujarier  was  again  writing 
when  she  entered  his  room.  He  was  very  pale.  Dis- 
simulating his  preoccupation,  he  invited  his  mistress  to 
read  a  flattering  notice  on  her  performance  from  the 
pen  of  Monsieur  de  Boigne.  But  Lola  was  not  to  be 
thus  diverted  from  her  purpose.  She  implored  her  lover 
to  tell  her  more  about  the  proposed  encounter,  to  reveal 
the  cause  of  his  evident  anxiety.  He  merely  replied 
that  he  was  extremely  busy,  that  there  was  nothing  to 
worry  about.  He  insisted  on  her  returning  to  her  own 
apartments.  "  I'll  come  and  see  you  to-morrow,"  he 
promised,  "  and,  Lola  ! — if — if  I  should  leave  Paris  for 
any  reason,  I  don't  want  you  to  lose  sight  of  my  friends. 
Promise  that.     They  are  good  sorts." 

He  almost  forced  Lola  out  of  the  house,  only  to  admit 
Dumas  a  few  minutes  later.  The  novelist  had  brought 
a  brand-new  pair  of  pistols.  "  Use  these,"  he  said  ; 
"I'll  give  you  a  written  statement  that  they  have  not 
been  used  before.  That  ought  to  satisfy  the  seconds." 
Dujarier  shook  his  head.  "  Look  here,"  said  Dumas 
solemnly,  "  your  luck  has  endured  a  long  time.  Take 
care  that  it  does  not  fail  you  now." 

His  friend's  well-meant  pertinacity  irritated  the 
journalist.  He  replied  brusquely  :  "  What  would  you  ? 
Do  you  want  me  to  pass  for  a  coward  ?  If  I  don't  accept 
this  challenge,  I  shall  have  others.  De  Beauvallon  is 
determined  to  fasten  a  quarrel  on  me.  One  of  his 
seconds  told  me  so.  He  said  my  face  displeased  him. 
However,  this  affair  over,  I  shall  be  left  in  peace." 

It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Dumas,  having 
exhausted  all  the  resources  of  argument  and  persuasion, 
rose  to  depart.  "  At  least,"  he  counselled  his  friend, 
"  don't  fight  till  two  in  the  afternoon.     It  is  no  use 

91 


Lola  Montez 

getting  up  early  for  so  unpleasant  an  affair.  Besides, 
I  know  you.  You  are  always  at  your  worst — nervous 
and  fidgety — between  ten  and  eleven," 

"  You  know  that,"  said  Dujarier  eagerly,  "  you  won't 
think  it  fear  ?  And,  Dumas,"  ...  he  went  to  his  desk, 
and  wrote  a  cheque  on  Laffitte's  for  a  thousand  crowns. 
"  I  owe  you  this.  Now  this  is  drawn  on  my  private 
account,  and  as  the  duel  takes  place  at  eleven,  go  there 
before  eleven,  for  you  don't  know  what  may  happen. 
Go  there  before  eleven,  for  after  that  my  credit  may  be 
dead.     I  beg  of  you,  go  before  eleven." 

The  two  friends  wrung  each  other's  hand,  and  Dumas, 
heavy  at  heart,  went  downstairs.  Dujarier  was  left  to 
his  thoughts.  The  reflections  of  a  man  who  is  practically 
sure  that  he  will  be  dead  next  day  are  quite  peculiar. 
The  sensation  is  not  fear  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of 
the  term.  It  is  an  effort  to  realise  what  no  man  ever 
can  properly  realise — that  the  world  around  you,  which 
in  one  (and  a  very  true)  sense  has  no  existence  except  as 
it  is  perceived  by  you,  will,  notwithstanding,  be  existing 
to-morrow  evening,  while  you  will  not  exist.  Intellectu- 
ally you  know  this,  but  you  cannot  realise  it. 

At  such  moments  men  turn  with  relief  to  the  pen. 
With  ink  and  paper  you  can  project  yourself  beyond 
your  own  grave.  Dujarier  signed  his  will,  which 
began  with  these  words  : — 

"  On  the  eve  of  fighting  for  the  most  absurd  reasons, 
on  the  most  frivolous  of  pretexts,  and  without  its 
being  possible  for  my  friends,  Arthur  Bertrand  and 
Charles  de  Boigne,  to  avoid  an  encounter,  which  was 
provoked  in  terms  that  forced  me  on  my  honour  to 
accept,  I  set  forth  hereafter  my  last  wishes  .  .    " 


92 


The  Challenge 

Then  he  wrote  to  his  mother. 

"  My  Good  Mother, — If  this  letter  reaches  you,  it 
will  be  because  I  am  dead  or  dangerously  wounded. 
I  shall  exchange  shots  to-morrow  with  pistols.  It  is 
a  necessity  of  my  position,  and  I  accept  it  as  a  man  of 
courage.  If  anything  could  have  induced  me  to  decline 
the  challenge,  it  would  have  been  the  grief  which  the 
blow  would  cause  you,  were  I  struck.  But  the  law  of 
honour  is  imperative,  and  if  you  must  weep,  dear 
mother,  I  would  rather  it  be  for  a  son  worthy  of  you 
than  for  a  coward.  Let  this  thought  assuage  your 
grief  :  my  last  thought  will  have  been  of  you.  I  shall 
go  to  the  encounter  to-morrow  calm  and  sure  of  my- 
self. Right  is  on  my  side.  I  embrace  you,  dear  mother, 
with  all  the  warmth  of  my  heart. 

"  DUJARIER." 

There  was  nothing  more  to  be  done  or  to  be  said. 
Only  a  few  hours  of  the  night  remained.  The  expe- 
rienced duellist  would  have  steadied  his  nerves  by  as 
long  a  sleep  as  possible.  But  Dujarier  regarded  himself 
as  doomed.  He  mentally  contrasted  his  miserable 
performances  at  the  shooting  gallery  with  the  wonderful 
things  De  Beauvallon  was  reported  to  have  done  with 
the  pistol  in  Cuba.  The  stories  might  be  inventions. 
He  tried  to  snatch  a  few  hours'  sleep.  ^ 

*  The  foregoing  section  may  seem  more  in  the  style  of  a  novel  than 
a  biography,  but,  the  dialogue  not  excepted,  it  is  an  exact  rSsume  of 
the  evidence  given  at  the  subsequent  trial. 


93 


XIV 

THE   DUEL 


The  morning  of  the  nth  March  dawned.  The  ground 
was  white  with  snow.  Dujarier  was  taking  his  light 
French  breakfast  when  Lola's  maid  brought  him  a 
message.  She  wished  to  see  him.  He  promised  to 
come  at  once,  and  the  servant  took  her  leave,  Dujarier 
hastily  scribbled  these  lines  : — 

"  My  Dear  Lola, — I  am  going  out  to  fight  a  duel 
with  pistols.  This  will  explain  why  I  wished  to  pass 
the  night  alone,  and  why  I  have  not  gone  to  see  you 
this  morning.  I  need  all  the  composure  at  my  command 
and  you  would  have  excited  in  me  too  m.uch  emotion. 
I  will  be  with  you  at  two  o'clock,  unless Good- 
bye, my  dear  little  Lola,  the  dear  little  girl  I  love. 

D," 

It  was  seven  o'clock.  He  told  his  servant  to  deliver 
the  letter  about  nine.  He  then  rose  and  walked  to  De 
Boigne's  house  in  the  Rue  Pinon,  There  he  found  the 
four  seconds  in  consultation.  He  saluted  them,  and 
thanked  De  Boigne  for  his  notice  of  Lola ,  The  conditions 
of  the  encounter  were  then  signed  and  read.  The 
combatants  were  to  be  placed  at  thirty  paces  distance, 
and  could  make  five  forward  before  firing,  but  each  was 
to  step  after  the  other  had  fired.     One  was  to  fire 

95 


Lola  Montez 

immediately  after  the  other.  A  coin  was  spun  to 
determine  who  should  provide  the  pistols  ;  but  it  was 
understood  that  the  weapons  were  not  to  have  been 
used  before  by  the  combatants.  The  coin  decided  in 
favour  of  De  Beauvallon.  D'Ecquevillez  then  produced 
a  pair  of  pistols,  which  he  gave  the  other  seconds  to 
understand  were  his  personal  property.  He  and  De 
Flers  then  went  in  search  of  their  principal.  Dujarier 
and  his  friends  returned  to  the  Rue  Lafhtte,  where  they 
picked  up  the  doctor,  Monsieur  de  Guise,  and  drove  off, 
all  four,  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne. 

The  rendezvous  was  a  secluded  spot  near  the  Restaur- 
ant de  Madrid.  There  is,  and  probably  was  then,  a  Hr 
aux  pigeons  close  by.  The  morning  was  intensely  cold, 
and  no  one  was  about.  A  few  snowflakes  were  falling 
as  the  party  arrived.  There  was  no  sign  of  De  Beau- 
vallon and  his  seconds,  though  it  was  now  ten  o'clock. 
The  four  men  impatiently  paced  up  and  down,  Bertrand 
and  De  Boigne  conversing  in  low  tones  as  to  the  probable 
result  of  the  encounter,  while  Dujarier  talked  with  the 
doctor  on  matters  in  general.  De  Guise,  however,  could 
not  refrain  from  questioning  him  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
affair.  The  journalist  related  the  episodes  at  the 
Freres  Provengaux,  from  his  own  point  of  view,  and 
said  that  D'Ecquevillez  had  told  him  that  De  Beauvallon 
intended  to  fight  him  "  because  he  did  not  like  him." 
"  I  naturally  repHed,"  continued  Dujarier,  "  that  many 
people  might  not  like  me,  and  I  could  not  be  supposed 
on  that  account  to  fight  them.  D'Ecquevillez  retorted 
that  his  principal  would  force  me  to  fight  by  a  blow  and 
an  insult.  This  threat  was  in  itself  an  insult.  I 
accepted  the  challenge." 

The  doctor  observed  the  journalist  closely.     He  was 

96 


The  Duel 

shivering  with  the  cold,  and  the  nervous  excitement, 
which  Dumas  had  remarked  in  him  always  at  this  hour, 
was  manifesting  itself.  The  seconds  drew  near,  and  De 
Guise  gave  it  as  his  professional  opinion  that  Dujarier 
was  not  in  a  condition  to  fight.  Bertrand  and  De 
Boigne  joined  their  entreaties  to  his,  and  argued  that 
having  waited  an  hour  for  the  other  party,  they  could 
in  all  honour  retire  from  the  field.  Dujarier  refused  to 
do  any  such  thing.  Before  all  things,  like  most  nervous 
men,  he  dreaded  the  imputation  of  cowardice.  The 
cold  and  the  excitement  made  him  tremble.  His 
friends  would  suspect  him  of  fear  ;  therefore,  at  all 
hazards,  he  must  give  them  proof  of  his  courage. 

Finding  his  persuasions  futile,  De  Guise  resigned 
himself  to  listen  to  a  long  and  minute  account  of  the 
quarrel  with  De  Beauvoir.  The  recital  was  finished 
when  the  sound  of  carriage  wheels  was  heard.  Duj  arier's 
heart  must  have  given  a  big  leap  !  A  shabby  cab  drove 
up  and  out  of  it  jumped  De  Beauvallon  and  his  seconds. 
De  Boigne  accosted  the  Creole  with  some  asperity. 
He  remarked  that  it  was  confoundedly  cold,  and  that 
he  and  his  principal  had  been  kept  waiting  for  an  hour 
and  a  half.  D'Ecquevillez,  who  seems  to  have  done 
most  of  the  talking  throughout  the  whole  affair,  turned 
to  Bertrand,  and  explained  that  they  had  been  delayed 
by  the  necessity  of  purchasing  ammunition  and  by  the 
slowness  of  the  cab  horse. 

De  Boigne  now  addressed  himself  to  De  Beauvallon, 
and  made  a  final  effort  to  arrange  the  dispute.  "  I 
speak  to  you,"  he  said,  "  as  one  who  has  had  experience 
of  these  affairs.  There  is  nothing  to  fight  about.  Your 
friends  have  put  it  into  your  head  that  an  insult  was 
intended."  

97 

H 


Lola  Montez 

"  Sir,"  replied  De  Beauvallon  coldly,  "  you  say  there 
is  no  motive  for  this  duel.  I  think  differently,  since  I 
am  here  with  my  seconds.  You  don't  suggest  any  other 
course.  The  position  is  the  same  as  yesterday,  when  it 
was  settled  that  we  should  fight.  Besides,  an  affair 
of  this  sort  is  not  to  be  arranged  on  the  field." 

De  Boigne  shrugged  his  shoulders.  He  had  done 
his  utmost  for  his  friend.  He  and  De  Flers  selected  the 
ground,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  other,  he  measured 
forty-three  paces,  diminishing  the  distance  originally 
agreed  to.  D'Ecquevillez,  meanwhile,  had  produced  his 
pistols,  recognisable  by  their  blue  barrels.  Bertrand 
was  about  to  charge  one,  when  he  introduced  his  finger 
into  the  muzzle,  and  withdrew  it,  black  to  the  depth  of 
the  finger-nail.  He  looked  at  the  other.  "  These 
pistols  have  been  tried,"  he  said. 

"  On  my  honour,"  declared  D'Ecquevillez,  "  we  have 
only  tried  them  with  powder.  Monsieur  de  Beauvallon 
has  never  handled  them  before." 

With  this  positive  assurance  Bertrand  had  to  be 
content.  The  pistols  were  again  tried  with  caps.  With 
grave  misgivings,  be  and  De  Boigne  placed  their  man. 
De  Beauvallon  also  took  up  position.  Dujarier  took 
his  pistol  from  his  second  so  clumsily  that  he  moved  the 
trigger  and  nearly  blew  De  Boigne's  head  off. 

The  signal  was  given.  Dujarier  fired  instantly.  His 
ball  flew  wide  of  the  mark.  He  let  drop  his  pistol,  and 
faced  his  adversary. 

De  Beauvallon  very  deliberately  raised  his  arms  and 
covered  his  opponent.  The  spectators  held  their 
breath.  "  Fire,  damn  you  !  fire  !  "  cried  De  Boigne, 
exasperated  by  his  slowness.  The  Creole  pulled  the 
trigger.    For  an  instant  Dujarier  stood  erect.    The  next, 

98 


The  Duel 

he  fell,  huddled  up  on  to  the  ground.  The  doctor 
rushed  towards  him.  His  practised  eye  told  him  that 
the  wound  was  mortal.  The  bullet  had  entered  near 
the  bridge  of  the  nose,  and  broken  the  occipital  bone, 
so  as  to  produce  a  concussion  of  the  spine.  De  Guise 
assured  Dujarier  the  wound  was  not  serious  and  told 
him  to  spit.  He  tried  in  vain  to  do  so.  Bertrand 
summoned  the  carriage  to  approach.  De  Boigne 
leant  over  his  friend,  and  asked  him  if  he  suffered  much 
pain.  Dujarier,  already  inarticulate,  nodded  ;  his 
eyelids  dropped,  and  he  fell  back  in  the  physician's 
arms.     He  was  dead. 

D'Ecquevillez,  seeing  Dujarier  fall,  offered  Bertrand 
his  assistance.  He  was  rebuffed,  told  to  gather  up  his 
pistols,  and  to  go.  He  hurried  off  with  the  other  second 
and  his  principal,  who  murmured :  "  Mon  Dieu  ! 
Mon  Dieu  !  "  as  he  passed  his  late  adversary.  "  How 
have  I  conducted  myself  ?  "  he  asked  his  second. 

"  I  hope  I  shall  always  act  in  similar  circumstances 
as  you  did,"  was  the  reassuring  reply. 

Meanwhile,  Dumas  had  gone,  full  of  anxiety,  to  the 
Rue  LafEtte,  to  find  that  his  friend  had  left  the  house, 
with  what  object  he  guessed.  He  noticed  as  a  sinister 
omen  that  there  was  blood  on  the  banister.  He  went 
away,  sad  at  heart,  to  await  the  result  of  the  combat. 

Lola,  on  the  receipt  of  her  lover's  note,  hurried  at 
once  to  his  house.  She  burst  into  his  bedroom  and  saw 
two  pistols — Alexandre's,  no  doubt — lying  upon  the 
quilt.  Gabriel,  Dujarier's  servant,  who  had  followed 
her,  shook  his  head  sadly,  and  said,  "  My  master  knows 
very  well  he  will  not  return."  In  an  instant  Lola  was 
again  outside  the  house,  driving  to  her  good  friend, 
Dumas's.     The  novelist  told  her  that  it  was  with  De 

99 


Lola  Montez 

Beauvallon,  not  with  De  Beauvoir,  that  their  friend  had 
gone  to  exchange  shots.  "  My  God  !  "  she  cried,  "  then 
he  is  a  dead  man  !  " 

She  rushed  back  to  the  Rue  Laffitte.  She  spent  half 
an  hour  in  agony  of  mind,  when  the  sound  of  a  carriage 
stopping  fell  upon  her  ears.  She  flew  into  the  street, 
and  opened  the  carriage  door.  A  heavy  body  lurched 
against  her  bosom.     It  was  her  dead  lover. 


100 


XV 


THE   RECKONING 


It  was  not  in  fair  fight  that  Dujarier  had  fallen.  Before 
even  he  had  been  carried  to  his  grave,  with  Balzac, 
Mery,  Dumas,  and  De  Girardin  as  his  pall-bearers,  the 
suspicions  of  all  his  friends  had  been  aroused.  At  Dr. 
Verons,  the  morning  of  his  death,  Bertrand  showed 
Dumas  his  finger-tip  still  blackened  by  the  barrel  of 
De  Beauvallon's  pistol.  Would  a  pistol  which  had  not 
been  charged  with  ball  leave  such  a  stain  ?  Experts 
present  said  no.  The  suspicion  that  De  Beauvallon 
had  made  doubly  sure  of  killing  his  adversary  by  trying 
his  weapon  beforehand  ripened  in  the  minds  of  many 
into  conviction.  How,  too,  had  the  Creole  spent  the 
early  part  of  the  morning  ?  Why  did  he  not  come  with 
his  seconds  to  the  Rue  Pinon.  What  was  he  doing  while 
Dujarier  was  awaiting  him  in  the  Bois  ?  The  affair 
began  to  wear  a  very  sinister  complexion.  Repre- 
sentations were  made  to  the  police.  Enquiries  were 
set  on  foot,  and  De  Beauvallon  and  D'Ecquevillez 
promptly  retired  across  the  Spanish  frontier. 

Lola  had  sustained  a  staggering  blow.  She  was 
sincerely  attached  to  Dujarier,  who  had  been  more  to 
her  than  any  other  man  had  been.  The  memory  of  her 
husband    was    hateful.     Liszt    had    flashed    suddenly 

lOI 


Lola  Montez 

across  her  path,  to  disappear  a  few  weeks  later.  Besides, 
he  had  given  her  up  of  his  own  accord.  But  this  man 
had  shared  her  Hfe  for  months,  had  loved  her  to  the  last, 
had  cared  for  her  both  as  a  lover  and  a  husband.  In  his 
will  he  left  her  eighteen  shares  in  the  Palais  Royal 
Theatre,  representing  twenty  thousand  francs.  She 
referred,  years  after,  and  no  doubt  sincerely,  to  his 
death  as  a  loss  that  could  never  be  made  up  to  her. 

The  luxury  of  grief  is  allowed  in  scant  measure  to 
those  who  minister  to  the  public's  amusement.  They 
must  dry  their  tears  quickly.  Three  weeks  after  the 
fatal  duel,  Lola  made  her  appearance  at  the  Porte-St.- 
Martin  Theatre,  in  La  Biche  au  Bois.  The  audience 
was  no  less  critical  than  at  the  Opera.  She  was  hissed, 
and  with  her  usual  audacity,  she  exasperated  the  public 
still  more  by  expressing  her  contempt  for  them  upon 
the  stage.  So  ended  her  career  as  a  danseuse  in  the 
French  capital. 

She  lingered  on  in  Paris,  notwithstanding,  frequenting 
the  society  of  her  dead  lover's  friends  in  accordance 
with  his  last  wishes.  The  legacy  had  relieved  her  for 
the  moment  of  the  necessity  of  earning  her  living.  She 
longed  to  see  retribution  overtake  the  man  who  had 
robbed  her  of  all  that  life  held  dear.  Justice  seemed  for 
a  time  to  pursue  the  slayer  with  leaden  feet.  In  July 
the  Royal  Court  of  Paris  practically  exonerated  the 
seconds,  and  De  Beauvallon  thought  it  safe  to  surrender 
voluntarily.  The  explanations  he  gave  as  to  his 
movements  on  the  loth  and  nth  March  did  not,  as  he 
had  hoped  they  would,  satisfy  the  authorities.  The 
Court  of  Cassation  quashed  the  decision  of  the  lower 
court,  and  sent  the  accused  for  trial,  on  the  charge  of 
murder,  before  the  Assize  Court  of  Rouen. 

102 


The  Reckoning 

The  case  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  in  the  annals 
of  French  justice.  It  all  turned  on  the  article  in  the 
code  of  honour  that  forbids  a  duellist  to  make  use  of 
arms  which  he  has  already  tried,  and  with  which  he  is 
proficient.  All  the  witnesses — among  whom  were 
professed  experts — agreed  that  this  rule  was  absolute. 
The  case,  which  raised  many  other  nice  points  of  law, 
was  heard  before  the  President  of  the  Tribunal,  Monsieur 
Letendre  de  Tourville.  The  prosecution  was  conducted 
by  the  King's  Procurator  (General  Salveton),  the 
Advocate-General,  and  two  very  able  counsel,  Maitres 
Leon  Duval  and  Romiguiere.  But  the  defence  had  a 
tower  of  strength  in  the  great  advocate  Berryer,  the 
defender  of  Ney,  Lamennais,  Chateaubriand,  and  Louis 
Napoleon — the  greatest  pleader  and,  after  Mirabea\i, 
the  greatest  orator  his  country  has  produced. 

A  trial  whereat  Alexandre  Dumas  and  Lola  Montez, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  lesser  lights  of  the  literary  and 
theatrical  world,  appeared  as  witnesses,  excited  immense 
interest.  Dumas  produced  a  sensation  which  must  have 
rejoiced  his  heart  on  entering  the  witness-box.  He  was 
asked  his  name  and  profession.  "  Alexandre  Dumas, 
Marquis  Davy  de  la  Pailleterie,"  he  replied  with  evident 
complacency  ;  "  and  I  should  call  myself  a  dramatist 
if  I  were  not  in  the  country  of  Corneille." 

"  There  are  degrees  in  everything,"  replied  the 
learned  President. 

Claudin,  who  heard  these  oft-quoted  words,  gives 
it  as  his  opinion  that  Dumas  expressed  himself  thus 
from  a  genuine  sense  of  modesty,  and  that  the  judge 
did  not  succeed  in  being  funny. 

The  great  Alexandre  was  in  very  good  form  through- 
out the  whole  tiial,  which  lasted  from  the  26th  to  the 

103 


Lola  Montez 

30th  March  1846,  inclusive.  He  expounded  the  laws 
and  principles  of  the  duel,  with  copious  commentaries. 
He  quoted  an  authoritative  work  on  the  subject,  drawn 
up  by  a  body  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen — a  work 
which  the  judge  dryly  observed  he  did  not  intend 
to  add  to  his  library.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  first 
part  of  his  evidence  (the  gist  of  which  we  know)  he 
solicited  leave  to  return  to  Paris,  to  assist  at  the 
representation  of  one  of  his  dramas  in  five  acts,  Dumas 
never  lost  an  opportunity  of  advertising  himself  He 
managed  also  to  drag  his  son  into  the  box,  though  the 
latter  had  really  nothing  to  say. 

The  frail,  fair  ladies  of  the  supper-party  also  had  to 
run  the  gauntlet  of  examination  and  cross-examination. 
The  virtuous  ladies  of  Rouen,  anxious  to  hear  the 
most  scandalous  details  of  the  case,  filled  the  space 
reserved  for  the  public,  and  having  feasted  their  eyes 
on  the  demi-mondaines,  obstinately  refused  to  let  these 
find  seats  among  them.  Mademoiselle  Lievenne 
appeared  in  a  charming  toilette  of  blue  velvet,  with  a 
red  Cashmere  shawl,  and  a  pearl-grey  satin  hood. 
Lola,  as  befitted  the  melancholy  occasion,  wore  the 
garb  of  mourning,  and  never,  perhaps,  showed  to  more 
advantage  than  in  her  close-fitting  black  satin  costume 
and  flowing  shawl.  She  was  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes. 
Though  a  year  had  passed  since  the  event  now  being 
discussed,  her  utterance  was  choked  with  sobs,  and 
the  reading  of  Dujarier's  last  note  caused  her  to  shed 
floods  of  tears.  She  declared  that  had  she  known  it 
was  De  Beauvallon  with  whom  her  lover  intended  to 
fight,  she  would  have  communicated  with  the  police 
and  prevented  the  duel.  "  I  would  have  gone  to  the 
rendezvous  mj^self,"  she  cried  with  characteristic  spirit. 

104 


The  Reckoning 

In  her  Memoirs,  she  adds  that  she  would  have  fought 
De  Beauvallon  herself,  and  her  life-story  testifies  that 
this  was  no  empty  gasconade. 

That  Dujarier's  death  had  been  premeditated  by 
his  antagonist  was  abundantly  proved  at  the  trial. 
The  pistols  which  the  dead  man's  seconds  had  been 
led  to  beUeve  belonged  to  D'Ecquevillez  were  now 
admitted  to  be  the  property  of  the  accused's  brother- 
in-law,  Monsieur  Granier  de  Cassagnac.  They  had 
been  in  the  possession  of  De  Beauvallon  since  the  eve 
of  the  encounter.  Circumstantial  evidence  went  to 
show  that  he  was  familiar  with  the  weapons,  and  had 
practised  with  them  on  the  fatal  morning.  But  the 
testimony  of  the  witnesses,  the  facts  themselves,  the 
skilful  pleading  of  Duval,  prevailed  not  against  the 
eloquence  of  Berryer.  His  magical  powers  of  oratory 
brought  the  jury  round  to  his  point  of  view,  and  De 
Beauvallon  was  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  murder, 
though  cast  in  damages  of  twenty  thousand  francs 
towards  the  mother  and  the  sister  of  his  victim. 

The  affair  did  not  end  there.  The  friends  of  Dujarier 
refused  to  be  diverted  from  the  trail  of  vengeance. 
Fresh  and  conclusive  evidence  came  to  light,  and  De 
Beauvallon  and  D'Ecquevillez  were  placed  on  their 
trial  for  perjury  during  the  first  hearing.  As  regarded 
D'Ecquevillez,  it  was  established  that  he  was  no  vis- 
count, but  a  bourgeois  of  doubtful  antecedents  named 
Vincent,  that  his  rank  in  the  Spanish  service  was  merely 
that  of  a  militia  captain,  and  that  his  evidence,  in 
general,  was  worthless.  It  was  proved  that  De  Beau- 
vallon had  tried  the  pistols  the  very  morning  of  the 
duel  in  a  garden  at  Chaillot,  taking  aim  with  them  not 
once,  but  a  dozen  times.     Dujarier  had  been  the  victim 

105 


Lola  Montez 

of  a  deliberate  conspiracy.  Both  the  accused  were 
found  guilty  and  condemned  (9th  October  1847)  to 
eight  years'  imprisonment.  Both  escaped  from  prison 
during  the  Revolution  of  the  following  year.  The 
principal  criminal  returned  to  his  native  isle,  where 
his  liberation  was  judicially  sanctioned.  His  subse- 
quent appeal  to  obtain  a  reversal  of  his  sentence  was 
rejected  by  the  Court  of  Cassation  in  1855. 

Lola  had  left  France  long  before  the  assassin  of  her 
lover  was  finally  brought  to  justice. 

"  In  another  six  months,"  writes  "  the  EngUsh- 
man  in  Paris,"  "  her  name  was  almost  forgotten  by 
all  of  us,  except  by  Alexandre  Dumas,  who  now  and 
then  alluded  to  her.  Though  far  from  superstitious, 
Dumas,  who  had  been  as  much  smitten  with  her  as 
most  of  her  admirers,  avowed  that  he  was  glad  that 
she  had  disappeared.  '  She  has  the  evil  eye,'  he  said, 
'  and  is  sure  to  bring  bad  luck  to  any  one  who  closely 
links  his  destiny  with  hers,  for  however  short  a  time. 
You  see  what  has  occurred  to  Dujarier  ?  If  ever  she 
is  heard  of  again,  it  will  be  in  connection  with  some 
terrible  calamity  that  has  befallen  a  lover  of  hers.' 
We  all  laughed  at  him,  except  Dr.  Veron,  who  could 
have  given  odds  to  Solomon  Eagle  himself  at  prophesy- 
ing. For  once  in  a  way,  however,  Alexandre  Dumas 
proved  correct.  When  we  did  hear  again  of  Lola 
Montes,  it  was  in  connection  with  the  disturbances 
at  Munich,  and  the  abdication  of  her  Royal  lover, 
Louis  I.  of  Bavaria." 


106 


XVI 

IN  QUEST  OF  A  PRINCE 

"  The  moment  I  get  a  nice,  round,  lump  sum  of  money, 
I  am  going  to  try  to  hook  a  prince."  In  these  words 
Lola  is  said  to  have  announced  her  ambition  to  "  the 
Englishman  in  Paris."  That  gossipy  exile,  whoever  he 
was  in  this  particular  instance,  was  no  friend  of  hers, 
and  took  care,  no  doubt,  to  render  her  expressions  as 
brutally  as  possible.  I  do  not  doubt  that  he  has 
interpreted  her  meaning  truthfully  enough.  It  is  clear 
that  Lola  was  an  inordinately  ambitious  woman, 
eager  to  play  a  leading  part  in  great  affairs.  Her 
association  with  Dujarier  and  other  active  politicians, 
the  glimpses  she  had  so  often  obtained  of  courts  and 
thrones,  stimulated  this  longing  for  power.  She  felt 
within  her  the  capacity  to  rule  men,  and  the  ability 
to  surmount  great  obstacles.  A  personal  courage  was 
hers,  such  as  would  have  earned  its  possessor,  if  a  man, 
the  cross  of  honour.  She  feared  not  the  bright  face 
of  danger,  dreading  only  that  circumstance  might  put 
the  things  she  coveted  beyond  her  reach.  Valour  alone, 
she  knew,  is  seldom  rewarded  in  a  woman.  It  is 
considered  by  the  women,  and  more  particularly  the 
men,  who  do  not  possess  it,  unwomanly.  Intellect, 
again,  she  had  ;   but  its  development  had  been  checked, 

107 


Lola  Montez 

its  faculties  neglected,  under  the  Early  Victorian  system 
of  women's  education.  Besides,  the  most  superficial 
observer  could  not  have  failed  to  see,  that  while  learn- 
ing in  a  man  was  accounted  a  qualification  for  respon- 
sibilities and  honours,  in  a  woman  it  was  regarded  as 
a  not  altogether  enviable  peculiarity — like  an  aquiline 
nose,  or  the  gift  of  sword-swallowing.  In  the  five 
years  Lola  had  passed  in  the  various  capitals  of  Europe, 
it  had  become  very  plain  to  her  that  what  men  supremely 
prize  in  women  is  physical  beauty.  The  governing 
sex  attached  no  rewards  (or,  at  any  rate,  the  meagrest) 
to  courage  and  wisdom.  They  asked  woman  only  to 
be  beautiful.  Some  insisted  that  she  should  also  be 
virtuous,  by  which  they  meant  she  should  bestow  herself 
upon  one  of  them  exclusively.  In  other  words,  they 
allowed  women  to  influence  them  only  through  the 
senses  ;  and  by  the  means  they  had  themselves  selected, 
the  ambitious  woman  had  no  choice  but  to  attack 
them. 

Over  the  grave  of  Dujarier  Lola  may  well  have 
exclaimed,  "  Farewell,  love  !  "  Every  one  of  her 
attachments  had  ended  unhappily — the  first  ingloriously, 
the  last  tragically.  Under  such  blows,  her  nature 
hardened.  Ambition  revived  as  sentiment  waned. 
There  was  something  worth  living  for  still.  At  Rouen 
she  heard  the  murderer  of  her  lover  acquitted.  Bitter 
and  disillusioned,  she  turned  her  steps  towards  Germany. 
Thanks  to  Dujarier,  she  had  now  "the  round,  lump  sum 
of  money  "  necessary  to  the  execution  of  her  project ; 
and  in  Germany,  with  its  thirty-six  sovereigns,  she 
could  hardly  fail  to  encounter  a  prince.  She  travelled 
about  from  watering-place  to  watering-place,  from 
Wiesbaden   to   Homburg,    from   Homburg   to   Baden- 

io8 


In  Quest  of  a  Prince 

Baden,  "  punting  in  a  small  way,  not  settling  down 
anywhere,  and  almost  deliberately  avoiding  both  French- 
men and  Englishmen."  At  Baden  it  was  rumoured 
that  the  Prince  of  Orange  (probably  an  old  friend  of 
her  Simla  days)  was  among  her  admirers.  There  also 
she  met  that  puissant  prince,  Henry  LXXII.  of  Reuss, 
who  straightway  fell  in  love  with  her.  He  invited  her 
to  pay  a  visit  to  his  exiguous  dominions,  and  she  went, 
probably  feeling  that  she  was  playing  the  part  of 
sparrow-hawk.  At  the  Court  of  Reuss  she  suffered 
agonies  of  boredom.  The  etiquette  was  as  strict  as  in 
the  palace  of  the  Most  Catholic  King,  and  the  deference 
exacted  by  Henry  LXXIL  as  profound  as  though  he 
had  been  Czar  of  all  the  Russias.  True,  in  his  territory, 
only  half  as  large  again  as  the  county  of  Middlesex, 
he  wielded  a  power  as  absolute  as  that  autocrat's.  Of 
this  pettiness  the  beautiful  stranger  soon  showed  her 
impatience.  Her  infirmity  of  temper  betrayed  itself. 
She  infringed  His  Highness's  prerogative  by  chastising 
his  subjects — still,  this  could  be  overlooked  by  an 
indulgent  prince.  But  when  Henry  one  morning 
beheld  Lola  walking  straight  across  his  liower-beds,  he 
felt  that  it  was  time  to  vindicate  the  outraged  majesty 
of  the  throne.  With  his  own  august  hands  he  wrote 
and  signed  an  order,  expelling  Mademoiselle  Montez 
from  the  principality.  To  this  decree  effect  was  only 
given  when  His  Highness  had  satisfied  to  the  last 
pfennig  a  tremendously  long  bill  for  expenses,  presented 
to  him  by  the  audacious  offender. 

As  it  is  hardly  possible  to  take  a  long  walk  without 
overstepping  the  limits  of  the  principality,  not  many 
hours  elapsed  before  Lola  was  beyond  the  reach  of 
Henry's  wrath.     She  had  the  choice  of  various  retreats. 

loq 


Lola  Montez 

The  neighbouring  duchy  of  Saxe-Altenburg  she,  no 
doubt,  contemptuously  dismissed.  To  the  north  lay 
Prussia ;  but  she  could  expect  no  welcome  there. 
Frederick  William,  after  her  memorable  adventure  at 
the  review,  had  given  her  to  understand  that  his  police 
could  be  better  employed  than  in  teaching  her  manners. 
She  avoided  Weimar,  where  her  old  lover,  Liszt,  had 
established  himself  in  company  with  the  Princess  Zu 
Sayn- Wittgenstein.  She  may  have  lingered  awhile  in 
these  pretty,  petty  Thuringian  states,  with  their  charming 
capitals  set  in  the  forest  glades  ;  and  perhaps  have 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Venusberg,  near  Eisenach, 
where  her  prototype  ensnared  Tannhauser.  The  spirit 
of  that  old  minnesdnger  was  not  altogether  dead. 
Something  of  it  glowed  in  the  heart  of  the  grey-haired 
man  who  reigned  over  Bavaria.  Deliberately  or 
aimlessly,  Lola  Montez,  the  Venus  of  her  generation, 
journeyed  south  towards  Munich. 


no 


XVII 

THE  KING  OF  BAVARIA 

At  that  time  Louis  I.,  who  wore  the  Bavarian  crown, 
was  a  man  sixty-one  years  old.  He,  "  the  most  Ger- 
man of  the  Germans,"  as  he  had  been  styled,  was  by 
an  odd  freak  of  fortune  born  in  France,  His  father. 
Max  Joseph,  though  brother  of  the  Duke  of  Pfalz- 
Zweibriicken,  commanded  a  regiment  in  the  French 
service,  and  it  was  at  Strasbourg  that  the  child  was 
born  in  1786.  His  father's  grenadiers  shaved  off  their 
moustaches  to  stuff  his  pillow  with.  The  name 
bestowed  on  him  in  baptism  was  that  of  his  godfather, 
the  ill-fated  King  of  France.  But  the  Revolution  soon 
drove  him  with  his  family  across  the  Rhine,  to  Mann- 
heim and  to  Rohrbach.  Death  quickly  cleared  the 
boy  a  path  to  the  throne.  His  father  presently  suc- 
ceeded his  brother  as  Duke,  and  a  few  years  later 
upon  the  extinction  of  the  elder  line  of  the  Wittelsbachs, 
became  Elector  of  Bavaria. 

Even  in  the  stormy  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century  princes  had  to  be  educated,  and  in  the  year 
1803  we  find  Louis  at  Gottingen,  sitting  at  the  feet  of 
Johannes  Miiller,  who  infused  him  with  a  lively  sense 
of  nationality  and  a  reverence  for  all  things  German. 
This  was  to  stand  the  Prince  in  good  stead  in  the  dark 

III 


Lola  Montez 

days  that  followed.  Those  were  years  of  profound  humili- 
ation for  Germany,  of  poignant  suffering  for  her  people. 
Even  in  the  'forties  few  Germans  took  pride  in  the  name, 
some  of  them  settled  in  London  and  Paris,  deeming  it 
almost  a  reproach.  In  his  country's  blackest  night 
the  Bavarian  prince  loudly  proclaimed  his  faith  in  a 
glorious  dawn.  He  exulted  in  the  name  of  German. 
He  was  "  teutsch  "  (as  he  always  wrote  the  word)  to 
the  very  core. 

He  was  German  not  least  in  his  passion  for  the  South. 
Italy  was  his  first,  last,  and  best-beloved  mistress.  In 
her  bosom  he  was  inspired  with  that  love  for  the  arts 
which  was  stronger  even  than  his  patriotism.  Return- 
ing to  Germany,  he  saw  with  disgust  his  father  embrace 
the  alliance  of  Napoleon  and  turn  his  arms  against 
Austria — German  fighting  German.  At  Strasbourg,  on 
hearing  the  news  of  the  capitulation  at  Ulm,  he  dared 
to  say  to  the  Empress  Josephine :  "  The  greatest 
victory  for  me  will  be  when  this,  my  native  city,  is 
united  to  Germany."  He  accompanied  Max  Joseph  to 
the  Emperor's  headquarters  at  Linz  in  1805,  when 
Bavaria  was  erected  by  the  conqueror's  decree  into  a 
kingdom.  The  new  Crown  Prince  made  no  secret  of 
his  antipathies.  Anxious  to  win  him  over.  Napoleon 
carried  him  off  to  Paris,  and  only  succeeded  in  disgusting 
him  by  his  irreverence  during  divine  worship.  Louis 
was  a  devout  and  sincere  Catholic,  From  the  Tuileries 
he  intrigued  for  the  overthrow  of  his  host  and  gaoler 
with  Czar  Alexander,  His  father  got  wind  of  these 
negotiations  and  recalled  him  to  Munich.  Thence  he 
was  sent  to  join  the  Bavarian  army  in  Prussia.  With 
unspeakable  bitterness  he  heard  that  the  victory  of 
Jena  was  celebrated  at  his  father's  capital  with  a  Te 

112 


LOUIS   OF   BAVARIA,   WHEN   ELECTORAL   PRINCE. 


The  King  of  Bavaria 

Deum  and  public  rejoicings.  In  January  1807,  in  the 
train  of  the  conquering  army,  he  reached  Beriin.  There 
his  first  act  was  to  unveil  a  bust  of  Frederick  the  Great  ! 

At  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  against  Russia, 
at  Napoleon's  request,  which  was  practically  a  command, 
Louis  took  the  head  of  the  Bavarian  army.  Years 
after,  he  refused  to  sanction  the  publication  of  a  work 
on  his  military  achievements  at  this  time.  With  the 
war-weary  veteran  of  De  Vigny's  tale,  he  might  have 
said  :  "  J'ai  appris  a  detester  la  guerre,  en  la  faisant 
avec  energie."  For  he  was  no  carpet  knight.  Though 
compelled  to  draw  the  sword  against  men  of  his  own 
race  and  their  allies,  he  wielded  it  well.  Under  a  hot 
fire  he  led  his  troops  across  the  Narew,  and  at  Pultusk 
won  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Order  of  Max  Joseph. 
Such  services  could  not  blind  Napoleon  to  his  lieuten- 
ant's real  sympathies.  In  his  indignation  against 
what  he  considered  the  ingratitude  and  treachery  of 
his  ally's  son,  he  is  reported  to  have  exclaimed  :  "  Quoi 
m'empeche  de  fusilier  ce  prince  ?  "  He  dared  not  go 
to  such  desperate  lengths.  Instead,  he  superseded 
Louis  in  the  command  of  the  Bavarian  army,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  campaign  of  1809,  by  one  of  his  own 
marshals,  Lefebvre,  Duke  of  Danzig.  To  the  Prince 
was  assigned  simply  the  command  of  a  division.  He 
fought  well  at  Abensberg,  where  the  mot  d'ordre  was 
Bravoure  et  Baviere.  "It  is  to  Germans  that  the 
Emperor  owes  this  victory  over  Germans,"  he  boasted 
bitterly. 

In  the  revolt  of  the  Tyrolese  against  the  Bavarian 
yoke  imposed  on  them  by  the  French,  his  heart  went 
out  to  the  gallant  insurgents.  He  pensioned  a  son  of 
the   patriot   Speckbacher,   and   condoled  with   Hofer's 

113 


Lola  Montez 

wife  on  the  execution  of  her  husband.  Napoleon's 
indignation  knew  no  bounds.  "  This  prince/'  he 
declared,  "  shall  never  reign  in  Bavaria  !  "  He  destined 
the  crown  for  Eugene  Beauharnais,  or  one  of  his  children. 

But  it  was  Louis's  policy  that  triumphed  in  1813. 
With  delight  he  beheld  his  father  desert  the  sinking 
ship  of  France,  and  from  Salzburg  (then  belonging  to 
Bavaria)  he  issued  a  proclamation,  urging  all  the  German 
people  to  rise  against  the  common  oppressor.  Wrede, 
with  a  Bavarian  army,  threw  himself  across  the  path 
of  the  retreating  French  at  Hanau,  to  find  that  the 
wounded  eagle's  talons  could  still  snatch  a  bloody 
victory.  In  the  campaigns  of  1814  and  1815,  Louis 
took  no  active  part.  His  father  dreaded  that  he  might 
fall  into  the  hands  of  Napoleon,  who  regarded  him  with 
intense  hatred.  The  Prince  had  to  be  content  with 
the  part  of  Tyrtaeus,  and  in  odes,  not  deficient  in  merit, 
stirred  the  patriotic  feelings  of  his  countrymen. 

After  Waterloo  he  sheathed  the  sword  that  he  had 
wielded  reluctantly,  but  not  ingloriously.  "  I  was  never 
a  general,"  he  said,  "  but  a  soldier,  yes — with  all  my 
heart."  He  was  now  free  to  devote  himself  to  matters 
which  more  strongly,  perhaps,  appealed  to  him.  At 
Vienna  and  London  he  watched  over  the  interests  of 
the  arts.  He  pleaded  (and  not  unsuccessfully)  for 
the  restitution  of  the  artistic  treasures  Napoleon  had 
carried  off,  and  wrote  on  the  subject  of  the  Elgin  marbles 
with  judgment  and  critical  acumen.  He  sought  the 
acquaintance  of  the  brilliant  and  the  learned,  presiding 
over  a  coterie  of  painters,  sculptors,  and  literati.  The 
winters  of  1817-8  and  1820-1  he  spent  in  the  Eternal 
City,  residing  at  the  Bavarian  Embassy  or  at  the  Villa 
Malta   on   the   Pincio.     He  knew   Canova   and  Thor- 

114 


The  King  of  Bavaria 

waldsen,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  his  firm  and  hfe- 
long  intimacy  with  the  sculptor,  Wagner.  On  the 
Neue  Pinakothek  at  Munich  is  a  picture  by  Catel, 
representing  one  of  those  joyous  and  scholarly  reunions 
in  which  Louis  delighted.  He  is  shown  seated  at  a 
table  in  a  humble  osteria  on  the  Ripa  Grande,  in  the 
company  of  Thorwaldsen,  Wagner,  the  artists  Veit, 
Von  Schnorr,  and  Catel  himself,  the  architect  Von 
Klenze,  Professor  Ringseis,  Count  Seinsheim,  and 
Colonel  von  Gumppenberg.  It  was  in  such  company, 
and  beneath  the  blue  sky  of  Italy,  that  "  the  most 
German  of  the  Germans  "  was  happiest.  His  aesthetic 
faculties  were  altogether  exotic.  His  style  of  literary 
composition  is  compared  by  an  English  writer  to  a 
dislocation  of  all  the  limbs  of  a  human  body. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  un-German,  more  opposed 
to  the  genius  of  the  language,  than  this  extraordinary 
style,  the  like  of  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  whole 
range  of  German  literature.  ^  It  is  an  aberration  of 
which  we  have  an  Enghsh  example  in  '  Carlylese.'  " 

Louis  succeeded  his  father  as  King  of  Bavaria  in 
October  1825.  He  was  then  in  his  fortieth  year.  A 
shrewd  connoisseur,  he  had  devoted  nearly  all  his  income 
as  Prince  to  the  acquisition  of  objects  of  art.  It  was 
his  ambition  to  make  his  capital  a  new  Florence,  and 
to  carry  out  this  design  the  strictest  economy  was  intro- 
duced into  all  departments  of  the  state.  The  Munich  we 
know  was  mainly  his  creation.  To  him  we  owe  the 
Glyptothek,  of  which  he  had  conceived  the  idea  at 
least  as  far  back  as  1805 ;  the  beautiful  Au  Church,  the 

^  It  is  imitated  by  Heine  in  some  ironical  verse,  condoling  with. 
Frederick  William  of  Prussia  on  Lola's  preference  for  Louis. 


Lola  Montez 

Royal  Chapel,  the  Ludwigskirche,  the  Church  of  St. 
Boniface,  the  splendid  throne-room,  the  bronze  monu- 
ment to  the  Bavarian  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  Russian 
campaigns.  The  quaint  old  German  city  was  completely 
transformed.  Unfortunately,  the  royal  Maecenas  failed 
to  recognise  the  worth  of  native  models,  such  as  were 
to  be  found  in  Nuremberg.  All  his  buildings  were 
duplicates,  or  close  imitations,  of  others  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Alps.  The  Triumphal  Arch  in  Ludwigstrasse, 
with  its  bronze  car  drawn  by  lions,  was  obviously 
suggested  by  the  well-known  models  of  Paris  and  Rome. 
To  Louis's  zeal  we  are  indebted  also  for  the  Pina- 
kothek  and  the  colossal  statue  of  Bavaria.  Finally,  in 
1830,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Leipzig,  the 
King  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Walhalla,  the 
temple  of  German  greatness,  thus  accomplishing  a 
design  he  had  formed  twenty-five  years  before.  Lofty 
as  was  the  execution,  the  conception  was  loftier.  It 
took  place 

"  just  after  the  Emperor  Francis  II.  had  uncrowned 
himself,  declaring  that  the  Holy  Roman  Empire — 
the  empire  of  a  thousand  years — was  at  an  end.  It 
was  at  such  a  time,  when  the  fabric  that  had  stood  for 
ten  centuries  had  crumbled  into  dust  ;  when  the 
tramp  of  the  conqueror  threatened  to  efface  all  ancient 
institutions ;  when  every  existing  dynasty  of  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe  was  trembling  for  its  existence  ;  when 
principalities  were  being  moulded  into  kingdoms, 
kingdoms  dismembered  or  destroyed,  God's  very 
barriers  trampled  down  and  passed  ;  when  works  of 
art,  the  heirlooms  of  a  nation,  were  torn  from  the  land 
that  had  produced  them  to  deck  the  capital  of  the 
conqueror  ;  when  victory  followed  victory — Marengo, 
Hohenhnden,  Ulm,  Austerlitz,  Jena,  Friedland  ;  when 
king's  crowns  and  mitres,  like  withered  leaves,  lav  strewn 

116 


The  King  of  Bavaria 

upon  the  ground,  and  when  it  might  well  be  feared 
that  in  that  ancient  land  soon  nothing  would  be  left 
of  its  former  self  to  recognise  its  identity — at  such  a 
moment  was  it,  when  devastation  threatened  to  put 
out  the  lights  which  had  been  shining  for  ages,  that 
the  Prince  Royal  of  Bavaria,  then  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  resolved  to  build  a  monument  to  the  glory  of 
his  country."  ^ 

There  were  the  elements  of  greatness  in  Louis  of 
Bavaria.  In  magnanimity  of  soul  he  was  very  far 
the  superior  of  those  sovereigns  to  whom  historians 
have  accorded  the  title  of  "  the  great."  Nor  was  he 
lacking,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  will  and  capacity  to 
give  to  his  loftiest  conceptions  practical  shape, 

"  Throughout  life,"  says  the  writer  just  quoted, 
"  King  Louis  ordered  his  expenses  with  the  exactness 
of  a  debtor  and  creditor  account  in  a  banker's  ledger. 
The  necessary  monies  for  certain  undertakings  were 
assigned  beforehand  for  each  coming  year.  Every 
separate  expenditure  was  provided  for  from  specified 
sources,  and  each  rubric  had  a  corresponding  one  be- 
longing to  it,  whence  its  expenses  were-to  be  defrayed." 

No  Bond  Street  dealer  could  be  a  shrewder  judge  of 
the  value  of  a  work  of  art  than  the  Bavarian  prince  ; 
he  was  no  wasteful  dilettante,  but  brought  to  bear  on 
the  embellishment  of  his  capital  the  keenest  business 
instincts.  He  watched  with  unflagging  attention  the 
fluctuations  in  the  prices  of  the  treasures  he  coveted. 
We  find  him  comparing  Thorwaldsen's  and  Canova's 
estimates  of  the  value  of  the  Barberini  Faun,  and 
refusing  to  pay  an  extra  scudo  for  the  carriage  of  a 

^  Morning  Herald,  3rd  March  1868. 
117 


Lola  Montez 

statue.  Yet  he  was  not  a  niggard.  Those  he  honoured 
with  his  friendship  he  never  left  to  want.  A  sick  or 
indigent  artist  had  only  to  bring  his  need  to  the  King's 
notice,  to  receive  liberal  relief.  He  was  a  warm- 
hearted and  constant  friend.  His  last  letter  to  Wagner 
is  as  affectionate  in  tone  as  the  first  he  addressed  to 
him  forty-eight  years  before.  The  permanency  of  his 
friendships  was  in  a  great  degree  due  to  his  good  sense 
in  making  them.  His  associates  were  men,  not  only 
of  genius  and  learning,  but  of  sterling  worth  and  char- 
acter. They  were  not  the  kind  of  men  to  flatter  his 
vanity,  or  to  humour  his  foibles.  Returning  to  Rome 
after  his  accession,  Louis  announced  his  intention  of 
continuing  the  course  of  life  he  had  pursued  as  Prince, 
but  thought  he  ought  to  assume  some  little  outward 
state.  Wagner  replied  :  "  The  King  of  Spain  certainly 
used  to  drive  about  in  a  coach  and  six,  with  footmen 
in  grand  liveries ;  but,  notwithstanding,  I  never  heard 
that  any  one  had  the  least  respect  for  him.  Simplicity 
is  most  consistent  with  dignity  :  and  the  course  you 
formerly  pursued,  sire,  will  be  the  best  to  pursue  in 
the  future." 

To  this  artist-king  Germany  owes  its  first  railway. 
A  short  but  very  important  line  was  constructed  by 
his  command  from  Nuremberg  to  Fiirth  in  1835,  ^^'^ 
was  followed  up  by  lines  connecting  Munich  with  Augs- 
burg and  Nuremberg  with  Bamberg.  In  these  projects 
may  be  traced  the  inception  of  the  whole  German 
railway  system.  Thanks  also  to  Louis,  the  steamboat 
first  ploughed  German  waters,  a  service  being  inaugur- 
ated under  his  auspices  on  the  Bodensee.  The  impor- 
tant canal  connecting  the  Danube  with  the  Main,  and 
affording  thereby  direct  water  communication  between 

118 


The  King  of  Bavaria 

the  North  Sea  and  the  Black  Sea,  bears  the  King's 
name,  and  was  executed  at  his  order.  The  ideahst, 
the  man  whom  some  writers  in  their  ignorance  dismiss 
as  h.3li-minnesa7tg€r,  ha.li-virtuoso,  was  keenly  alive  to 
the  material  needs  of  his  subjects.  The  commercial 
treaties  concluded  with  Wiirtemberg  in  1827  and  with 
Prussia  in  1833  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Zollverein, 
itself  the  basis  of  the  political  unity  of  all  Germany. 
The  empire  owes  much  to  Louis  I.  Had  he  been  the 
monarch  of  a  more  powerful  state,  the  imperial  crown 
might  have  been  his.  "  Were  such  a  dignity  offered 
to  him,"  his  brother-in-law,  Frederick  William,  is 
reported  to  have  said,  "the  King  of  Bavaria  would 
accept  it  for  the  sake  of  the  picturesque  costume  !  " 
The  sneer  evinced  a  knowledge  of  the  weaker  side  of 
a  noble  character,  but  it  is  still  open  to  question  whether 
a  Wittelsbach  would  not  have  more  worthily  filled  the 
imperial  throne  than  a  Hohenzollern.  Humanity  and 
the  arts  would  surely  have  been  gainers. 


119 


XVIII 

REACTION  IN   BAVARIA 

All  generous  ideals  took  root  and  blossomed  in  the 
heart  of  the  Bavarian  prince.  He  loved  his  country, 
he  loved  the  arts,  he  venerated  the  Catholic  faith, 
and  (oddest  of  all  in  a  German  prince)  he  loved  liberty. 
The  beginning  of  his  reign  was  marked  by  the  most 
liberal  administration.  Extensive  reforms  were  carried 
out  in  every  department  of  state.  Many  old  feudal 
institutions  and  privileges  which  had  survived  the 
Napoleonic  deluge  were  swept  away,  including  a  multi- 
tude of  archaic  courts  and  jurisdictions.  The  powers 
of  the  censorship  of  the  Press  were  considerably  curtailed 
and  recognition  extended  to  the  Protestants  in  the 
departments  of  public  worship  and  instruction.  Re- 
trenchment and  economy  were  enforced  upon  Louis  by 
his  great  expenditure  on  pubhc  works.  A  million 
florins  were  saved  in  the  army  estimates,  and  official 
salaries  were  seriously  cut  down.  An  economy,  not 
so  commendable,  was  also  effected  by  reducing  the 
pensions  to  retired  civil  servants  and  their  widows, 
whose  complaints  were  distinctly  heard  above  the 
chorus  of  approbation  that  greeted  the  administration 
of  the  Liberal  King.  Looking,  perhaps,  too,  to  the 
rapid  development  of  the  railway  system,  he  suffered 
the  roads  of  Bavaria  to  fall  into  a  deplorable  state  of 
neglect. 

121 


Lola  Montez 

Louis  was  not  a  Liberal  of  the  Manchester  School. 
His  sympathy  with  freedom  and  progress  was  genuine, 
and  he  loyally  observed  the  provisions  of  a  not  very 
democratic  constitution.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  believed  rather  in  government  for  the  people 
than  by  the  people.  In  the  particular  instance  he  was 
abundantly  justified,  for  in  general  enhghtenment  he 
was  several  centuries  ahead  of  his  subjects.  Five 
years  after  his  succession  to  the  throne,  his  good 
resolutions  were  rudely  shattered  by  the  Revolution  of 
July.  Why  that  event  should  have  arrested  him  in 
the  path  of  progress  it  is  not  easy  to  divine,  for  Charles 
X.  lost  his  crown  through  obstinately  opposing,  not 
b}^  stimulating.  Liberal  tendencies.  In  the  Revolution 
the  reactionary  or  Ultramontane  party  of  Bavaria 
saw  their  thance,  however,  and  gained  the  King's  ear. 
They  dwelt  on  the  natural  alliance  of  throne  and  altar, 
and  the  identity  of  liberalism  in  religion  with  liberalism 
in  politics.  Only  in  a  religious  people,  they  argued, 
could  a  king  place  his  trust.  Secure  of  royal  protection 
and  encouragement,  friars,  nuns,  and  ecclesiastics  of 
all  kinds  came  flocking  into  Bavaria.  Monasteries, 
convents,  and  church  schools  threatened  to  become  as 
numerous  as  they  are  now  in  England.  Some  made 
light  of  this  black-robed  invasion,  and  attributed  it  to 
the  King's  well-known  fondness  for  the  mediaeval  and 
the  picturesque.  But  a  real  change  had  come  over 
Louis.  Germany  was  seething  with  discontent,  and 
revolution  was  in  the  air.  The  King  remembered  the 
fate  of  his  godfather,  and  decided  to  take  the  side  of 
reaction.  The  censorship  of  the  Press  was  again 
enforced.  Those  who  were  found  guilty  of  lese-majeste 
were  condemned  to  make  a  public  apology  to  the  King's 

122 


Reaction  in  Bavaria 

portrait  or  statue — an  almost  Gilbertian  penalty. 
Soldiers,  Protestants  and  Catholic,  were  alike  ordered 
to  kneel  when  the  Host  was  carried  past.  Repressive 
laws  were  enacted  against  the  Lutherans  and  Calvin- 
ists,  and  Germany  seemed  on  the  point  of  passing 
once  more  under  the  sway  of  Rome.  Louis  had  lost 
his  head.  A  few  clod-hoppers  brawling  over  their  beer 
appeared  to  him  an  attempt  at  revolution.  It  justified 
him  in  closing  the  university  and  calling  out  the 
reserves.  He  established  a  star-chamber  at  Landshut, 
where  anonymous  accusations  were  entertained  and 
every  accusation  entailed  conviction.  The  Jesuits 
were  supposed  to  have  inspired  this  policy.  The  rumour 
was  probably  true  in  substance.  The  children  of 
Loyala  are  not  allowed  to  do  evil  that  good  may  come, 
or  to  indulge  in  verbal  equivocations,  as  their  enemies 
allege  ;  but  it  is  their  aim  to  bring  the  whole  world 
into  real  and  sincere  submission  to  the  Roman  Church, 
and  to  achieve  that  end  they  have  certainly  not  hesitated 
to  sacrifice  political  and  social  ideals  dear  to  all  the  rest 
of  mankind.  The  Jesuit  is  a  Christian  produced  to 
his  utmost  logical  extremity.  Naturally,  the  order 
is  very  unpopular  with  people  who  like  to  profess 
Christianity  without  any  intention  of  bringing  their 
views  and  conduct  into  line  with  it. 

A  true  son  of  the  Church  was  Carl  Abel,  a  politician 
of  some  repute,  to  whom  Louis  handed  the  portfolio  of 
the  Interior  in  April  1858.  He  was,  it  is  interesting 
to  note,  one  of  those  Bavarian  ministers  who  had 
accompanied  the  King's  son,  Otho,  to  Greece  in  the 
'twenties,  and  assisted  in  schooling  the  renascent 
nation  in  its  new  political  status.  He  it  was  who 
enacted  the  "  knee-bending  "  order  to  which  allusion 

12^ 


Lola  Montez 

has  been  made  ;  he  again  who  substituted  the  word 
"  subjects  "  for  "  citizens  "  in  the  royal  decrees  and 
proclamations.  His  policy  was  frankly  Ultramontane. 
The  publication  of  Strauss's  "  Life  of  Jesus,"  three 
years  before,  had  given  a  powerful  stimulus  to  rational- 
istic tendencies,  and  these  the  Bavarian  Government 
determined  at  all  costs  to  eradicate.  It  was  in  the 
world  of  thought  and  education  that  they  saw  the 
struggle  must  be  waged,  and  they  wisely  strove  to 
bring  the  schools  entirely  within  their  control.  To 
prevent  the  spread  of  dangerous  opinions  it  was 
decreed  that  all  the  books  used  in  the  universities  and 
schools,  even  in  those  of  the  lowest  grade,  must  be 
purchased  from  the  official  Government  depdt.  A  bad 
time  followed  for  the  booksellers  and  for  every  one 
suspected  of  liberal  opinions.  The  editor  of  the  Bern- 
storff  papers  speaks  of  Abel's  administration  as  a 
scandal  to  all  Europe.  It  was  not  considered  such  by 
the  majority  of  the  Bavarian  people,  who  were  probably 
more  in  sympathy  with  their  ruler's  present  mood  than 
with  his  earlier  aspirations  towards  a  Grecian  polity 
and  culture.  The  Jesuits  reigned  supreme,  but  it  was 
not  without  certain  faint  misgivings  that  their  chiefs 
heard  the  news  of  Lola's  arrival  in  Munich.  The 
dauntless  adventuress  was  a  factor  that  had  to  be 
reckoned  with. 


124 


XIX 

THE    ENTHRALMENT    OF    THE    KING 

The  Court  Theatre  of  Munich,  thanks  to  the  King's 
critical  faculty  and  liberal  patronage,  had  a  very  high 
reputation  throughout  Europe,  and  seemed  to  Lola  a 
very  proper  place  for  the  display  of  her  charms  and 
accompHshments.  She  appUed  accordingly  to  the 
Director,  who  upon  an  exhibition  of  her  powers,  an- 
nounced that  they  did  not  come  up  to  his  standard.  This 
was  probably  true  ;  but  had  Lola  danced  like  Taglioni, 
she  would  no  doubt  have  been  rejected  all  the  same  by 
an  official  of  this  strictly  clerical  Government.  Full  of 
wit  and  resource,  she  saw  in  her  rebuff  the  very  oppor- 
tunity she  sought  of  bringing  herself  to  the  notice  of 
a  sovereign.  She  had  made  a  few  friends  among  the 
jeunesse  doree  of  the  Bavarian  capital,  and  through  one 
of  these,  Count  Rechberg,  a  royal  aide-de-camp,  she 
craved  an  audience  of  His  Majesty.  Louis  w^as  indis- 
posed to  grant  it,  despite  his  usually  gracious  bearing 
towards  foreign  artistes.  "  Am  I  expected  to  see  every 
strolling  dancer  ?  "  he  asked  pettishly.  "  Your  par- 
don, sire,"  said  Rechberg,  "  but  this  one  is  well  worth 
seeing."  The  King  hesitated.  While  he  did  so  Lola 
Montez  stood  before  him.  Tired  of  waiting  in  the  ante- 
chamber,  and  anticipating   a  refusal,  she  had  coolly 

125 


Lola  Montez 

followed  an  aide-de-camp  into  the  royal  presence. 
Now  she  stood  before  the  astonished  King,  dazzlingly 
beautiful,  with  downcast  eyes,  a  suppliant  mien,  and  a 
smile  of  triumph  at  the  corners  of  her  mouth. 

To  a  passionate  admirer  of  beauty  like  Louis  her 
loveliness  was  an  all-sufficient  excuse  for  her  amazing 
audacity.  His  aide-de-camp  was  right.  The  woman 
was  well  worth  seeing.  As  he  gazed  upon  her  youth 
glowed  anew  in  his  sixty-year-old  frame,  the  blood 
coursed  as  fiercely  as  in  the  time  long  gone  by.  Those 
who  saw  Lola  knew  a  second  spring.  Collecting  his 
faculties,  the  King  granted  the  dancer's  prayer — she 
received  his  command  to  appear  at  the  Court  Theatre  ; 
but  he  was  in  no  haste  to  dismiss  the  suppliant.  Lola, 
says  one  writer,  came,  saw,  and  conquered.  The  King 
yielded  to  her  at  the  first  shot.  Lola's  detractors 
relate  that,  glancing  at  her  magnificent  bust,  he  asked 
in  wonder  if  such  charms  could  be  of  nature's  making, 
whereupon  the  lady,  there  and  then  ripping  up  her 
corsage,  dispelled  his  doubts.  They  can  believe  the 
story  who  like  to  ;  it  sounds  in  the  highest  degree  im- 
probable. But  from  this  first  interview  dated  the 
enthralment  of  the  King. 

Not  only  grey-headed  rulers  but  tiny  school-girls 
felt  the  power  of  the  enchantress.  Louise  von  Kobell 
tells  us  how,  when  a  child,  she  saw  Lola  Montez.  ^ 

"  On  the  9th  October,  1846,  as  I  was  going  down 
Briennerstrasse,  near  the  Baversdorf  Palace,  I  saw 
coming  my  way  a  lady,  gowned  in  black,  with  a  veil 
thrown  over  her  head,  and  a  fan  in  her  hand.  Sud- 
denly something  seemed  to  flash  across  my  vision,  and 
I  stood  stock  still,  gazing  into  the  eyes  that  had  dazzled 

1 "  Unter  den  vier  ersten  Konigen  Bayerns,"  1894. 
126 


The  Enthralment  of  the  King 

me.  They  shone  upon  me  from  a  pale  countenance, 
which  assumed  a  laughing  expression  before  my  bewil- 
dered stare.  Then  she  went,  or  rather  swept  on,  past 
me.  I  forgot  all  my  governess's  injunctions  against 
looking  round,  and  stood  staring  after  her,  till  she 
disappeared  from  view.  Like  her,  I  told  myself, 
must  have  been  the  fairies  in  the  nursery  tales.  I 
returned  home  breathless,  and  told  them  of  my  adven- 
ture. '  That,'  said  m}/  father,  grimly,  '  must  have  been 
the  Spanish  dancer,  Lola  Montez.' 

"  I  went  to  the  Court  Theatre  on  Saturday,  the 
loth  October  ;  I  came  much  too  early  to  my  seat,  and 
read  full  of  eagerness  the  annauncement  :  '  Der  ver- 
wunschene  Prinz,  a  play  in  three  acts,  by  J.  von  Plotz. 
During  the  two  entr'actes,  Mademoiselle  Lola  Montez 
of  Madrid  will  appear  in  her  Spanish  national  dances.' 
Full  of  impatience  I  saw  the  curtain  rise,  sat  through  the 
first  act,  and  saw  the  curtain  fall  again.  Now  it  rose  once 
more,  and  I  saw  my  fairy  of  yesterday — Lola  Montez. 

"  In  the  pit  they  clapped  and  hissed ;  the  last, 
explained  my  neighbour,  because  of  the  rumours  abroad 
that  Lola  was  an  emissary  of  the  English  Freemasons, 
an  enemy  of  the  Jesuits — a  coquette,  too,  who  had  had 
amorous  adventures  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  according 
to  the  newspapers. 

"  Lola  Montez  took  the  centre  of  the  stage,  clothed 
not  in  the  usual  tights  and  short  skirts  of  the  ballet 
girl,  but  in  a  Spanish  costume  of  silk  and  lace,  with  here 
and  there  a  glittering  diamond.  Fire  seemed  to  shoot 
from  her  wonderful  blue  eyes,  and  she  bowed  like  one 
of  the  Graces  before  the  King,  who  occupied  the  royal 
box.  Then  she  danced  after  the  fashion  of  her  country, 
swaying  on  her  hips,  and  changing  from  one  posture 
to  another,  each  excelling  the  former  in  beauty. 

"  While  she  danced  she  riveted  the  attention  of  all 
the  spectators,  their  gaze  followed  the  sinuous  swayings 
of  her  body,  in  their  expression  now  of  glowing  passion, 
now  of  lightsome  playfulness.  Not  till  she  ceased  her 
rhythmic  movements  was  the  spell  broken.  .  .  . 

127 


Lola  Montez 

"  On  14th  October,  1846,  Lola  Montez  appeared 
for  the  second  and  last  time  at  the  Court  Theatre. 
She  danced  the  '  Cachucha  '  in  the  comedy,  Der  Wei- 
berfeind  von  Benedix,  and  danced  the  '  Fandango  ' 
with  Herr  Opfermann  in  the  entr'acte  of  the  play 
Miiller  und  Miller.  In  order  to  drown  any  manifest- 
ations of  displeasure,  the  pit  was  occupied  by  an  organ- 
ised claque  of  policemen  in  plain  clothes  and  theatre 
attendants.  The  precaution  was  unnecessary,  as  Lola 
Montez  exercised  a  universal  charm.  The  King  had 
received  her  in  audience,  as  he  was  accustomed  to 
receive  foreign  artistes  ;  her  beauty  and  her  stimulating 
conversation    captivated    Louis    L" 

"  I  know  not  how — I  am  bewitched,"  His  Majesty 
said  frankly  to  one  of  his  ministers  two  days  after  his 
first  interview  with  Lola.  He  had  worshipped  at  the 
altar  of  Venus  all  his  life,  and  might  reasonably  have 
believed  himself  immune  against  passion,  now  he  had 
entered  his  seventh  decade.  The  vision  of  the  radiant 
stranger  haunted  him.  He  sought  for  some  excuse  to 
have  her  about  his  person.  He  had  long  meditated 
and  spoken  of  a  journey  to  Spain.  He  would  learn 
Spanish,  and  Lola  should  be  his  teacher.  He  discussed 
the  idea  with  some  of  his  more  intimate  advisers,  who 
said  nothing  to  dissuade  him.  Other  hearts  than  his 
beat  more  rapidly  at  the  dancer's  approach.  Dr. 
Curtius,  the  royal  physician,  was  of  opinion  that  Seiiora 
Montez  would  be  an  admirable  person  to  teach  the 
King  the  CastiHan  tongue  ;  the  aide-de-camp.  Lieu- 
tenant Niissbaum,  was  eager  to  convey  the  royal 
summons  to  the  lady.  Lola  did  not  refusd  the  office 
of  instructress,  though  the  situation  was  not  without 
its  irony,  seeing  that  her  knowledge  of  Spanish  was  but 
slight.     The  reading  of  Calderon  and  Cervantes  was 

128 


The  Enthralment  of  the  King 

enlivened  and  interrupted  by  her  humorous  salhes, 
her  unexpected  jeux  d' esprit,  by  the  thousand  and  one 
dehghtful  turns  and  mannerisms  by  which  as  much  as 
by  her  beauty  Lola  intoxicated  men.  She  was  full  of 
the  elusive  quality  that  her  pseudo-countrymen  call 
sal.  Her  intense  vitality  effervesced,  fizzed,  and 
sparkled  like  champagne,  and  every  bubble  that  reached 
the  surface  caught  a  different  tint.  Taking  lessons  from 
a  charming  woman  is  one  of  the  shortest  ways  I  know  to 
falling  in  love  with  her.  Louis's  was  a  very  bad  case. 
His  emotional  capacity  by  an  unusual  coincidence, 
had  developed  in  proportion  to  his  intellect.  "  His 
soul  is  always  fresh  and  young,"  Lola  declared,  no 
doubt  quite  sincerely.  He  had  not  retained  a  very 
large  measure  of  the  good  looks  that  distinguished  him 
when  a  young  man,  but  his  bearing  was  dignified, 
courtly,  gracious — in  a  word,  kingly — and  his  frank, 
grey-blue  all-embracing  eyes  had  in  them  something 
appealing.  His  personality,  in  short,  is  summed  up 
by  Frau  von  Kobell  as  "  interesting."  His  manner 
was  as  animated  as  Lola's,  and  corresponded  to  every 
movement  of  his  mind.  I  do  not  see  why  such  a  man, 
even  if  he  be  sixty-one  years  old,  should  not  win  a 
woman's  love.  Moreover,  the  staunchest  Republican  must 
admit  that  if  there  is  no  divinity,  there  is  a  glamour 
or  fascination  about  a  king.  He  is,  at  least,  uncom- 
mon— even  in  Germany  ;  he  holds  aloof,  his  inner  life 
is  to  some  extent  veiled  in  mystery  ;  his  setting  is 
spectacular,  and  he  rarely  appears  at  a  disadvantage. 
He  is  never  seen  rolling  in  the  mire  in  the  football 
field,  affording  sport  to  counsel  and  reporters  in  the 
witness-box,  or  in  any  of  those  undignified  situations 
in  which  we  so   often  meet   our  fellows.     Above  all, 

129 


Lola  Montez 

he  represents  power,  a  faculty  more  attractive  even  to 
women  than  to  men.  Ambition  prompted  Lola  to 
hook  a  prince,  but  she  found  it  quite  easy  to  like  one 
for  his  own  sake. 

The  exact  nature  of  the  relations  between  individual 
men  and  women  is  not  in  general  a  legitimate  matter 
for  curiosity  or  speculation.  It  is  a  question  which 
concerns  the  parties  only.  In  this  instance,  however, 
it  may  be  in  the  interests  of  Louis  and  Lola  to  observe 
that  their  relations  were  in  all  probability  what  is  called 
platonic.  The  King's  nature  was  aesthetic,  poetical, 
sentimental ;  he  was  eminently  capable  of  that  unsen- 
sual  affection  that  seems  to  have  animated  Dante  and 
Michelangelo.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  too,  that  he 
was  sixty  years  of  age.  "  The  sins  of  youth,"  he  said 
"  are  the  virtues  of  age."  He  affirmed  publicly  and 
solemnly  that  Lola  had  been  his  friend,  never  his  mis- 
tress ;  and  the  word  of  Louis  of  Bavaria  is  not  to  be 
lightly  disregarded.  Lola  repeatedly  said  the  same 
thing.  Nothing  to  the  contrary  was  ever  alleged  by 
the  King's  immediate  entourage  ;  and — most  significant 
fact  of  all — the  Queen,  Therese  of  Sachsen-Hildburg- 
hausen,  never  manifested  the  slightest  jealousy  of  her 
husband's  friend,  but,  on  the  contrary,  more  than  once 
expressed  her  sympathy  with  her  policy  and  actions. 

It  was  not,  of  course,  to  be  expected  that  the  public 
would  take  this  view  of  Louis's  relations  with  the  famous 
adventuress.  Least  of  all  would  it  find  acceptance 
with  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,  whose  tendency  it 
has  ever  been  to  exaggerate  the  sensual  instincts  in 
man's  nature  and  to  ignore  the  subtler,  finer  phases  of 
passion.  Puritan  and  prurient  are  generally  syn- 
onymous terms.      Nor  were  the   King's  ministers  and 

130 


The  Enthralment  of  the  King 

clerical  advisers  at  all  anxious  to  place  a  favourable 
construction  on  Lola's  presence  at  the  court. 

The  Jesuits'  agents  in  different  capitals  reported 
unfavourably  on  the  dancer.  They  professed  to  believe, 
as  we  have  seen — perhaps,  they  did  believe — that  she 
was  an  emissary  of  the  Freemasons,  a  body  which  in 
England  is  regarded  as  a  gigantic  goose  club,  but  by 
the  Catholic  world  as  the  most  dangerous  of  secret 
anti-clerical  societies.  Now  from  what  Frau  von 
Kobell  tells  us,  it  is  plain  that  the  Jesuits  looked  on 
Lola  as  a  foe  from  the  moment  she  set  foot  in  Munich. 
We  must  seek  for  some  antecedent  cause.  The 
lady's  own  explanation  is  improbable,  but  worth 
repeating.  She  alleges  that  while  in  Paris  she  was 
approached  by  the  agents  of  the  Society,  and  invited 
to  assist  in  the  conversion  of  Count  Medem,  a  Russian 
nobleman.  This  proposal,  possibly  because  of  her 
inherited  dislike  of  the  Roman  Church,  she  declined  ; 
and  communicated  the  matter  to  Monsieur  Guizot, 
then  Prime  Minister,  who  had  long  been  puzzled  by 
the  ever-increasing  numbers  in  which  the  Russian 
nobility  in  Paris  were  going  over  to  Rome.  Their 
conversion  is  attributed  by  Catholics  to  the  apostolic 
zeal  of  Madame  Swetchine,  a  Russian  lady  of  some 
literary  attainments,  whose  salon  was  the  rendezvous 
of  the  clerical  party  in  Paris.  Vandam's  informant 
(if  he  ever  existed  in  the  flesh)  and  one  or  two  writers 
with  an  Ultramontane  bias  suggest  that  the  feud 
between  Lola  and  the  Jesuits  arose  simply  because  it 
was  impossible  for  the  latter  to  give  any  countenance 
to  a  King's  mistress.  But  we  know  that  they  recognised 
her  as  their  enemy  before  she  became  the  royal  favour- 
ite ;    moreover,  German  writers  say  that  the  clericals 

131 


Lola  Montez 

had  never  made  any  remonstrances  or  raised  any 
difficulties  respecting  her  predecessors  in  His  Majesty's 
affections.  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  Lola's  anti- 
clerical or  anti-Catholic  sentiments  were  genuine  and 
frankly  expressed  ;  we  find  similar  instances  of  the 
odium  theologicum  in  Nell  Gwynne  and  Louis  de  Keroual. 
Intercourse  with  Liszt  and  Dujarier  would  have  strength- 
ened such  a  prejudice.  In  Lola's  haughty  disregard,  too,  of 
the  etiquette  of  courts  and  fearlessness  in  the  presence 
of  the  great,  we  may  detect  the  temperament,  which  would 
find  its  political  expression  in  advanced  Liberalism. 

The  rumour  that  she  was  an  agent  of  ' '  the  English 
Freemasons,"  if  by  that  term  we  may  understand  the 
English  Liberals,  is  not  to  be  dismissed  as  altogether 
preposterous.  Our  Government  at  that  time  was  more 
or  less  actively  hostile  to  the  ultra-legitimist  and  clerical 
tendencies  paramount  in  Central  Europe  :  we  backed 
the  Swiss  Confederation  against  the  Sonderbund  ;  we 
sympathised  with  the  Italians  in  their  struggles  for 
freedom  ;  English  volunteers  fought  for  the  Liberal 
Christinos  against  the  Ultramontane  Carlists.  Lola's 
well-known  sympathies,  her  knowledge  of  continental 
courts,  above  all,  her  personality,  would  have  recom- 
mended her  as  a  most  valuable  agent  to  our  Foreign 
Office.  We  shall  see  presently  that  she  became  the 
honoured  guest  of  an  English  ambassador,  ^nd  how 
legal  proceedings  afterwards  instituted  against  her  in 
this  country  were  mysteriously  suffered  to  collapse,  as 
if  in  obedience  to  orders  from  above.  Lola  never 
decribes  herself,  it  is  true,  as  a  secret  agent  of  our 
Government,  but  she  would  naturally  have  preferred  to 
appear  as  the  independent,  irresponsible  dictatrix  of  a 
nation's  policy. 

132 


The  Enthralment  of  the  King 

Whatever  the  cause  may  have  been,  antagonism 
manifested  itself  between  Lola  Montez  and  the  King's 
advisers,  official  and  clerical,  within  a  very  few  days 
of  her  arrival  at  his  court.  Louis  is  said  to  have  intro- 
duced her  to  his  ministers  as  his  best  friend.  The 
Jesuits  immediately  circulated  the  report  that  she  was 
his  mistress,  and  endeavoured  to  inflame  the  Bavarian 
people  against  her.  In  obedience  to  their  principle  of 
the  Church  first  and  political  consistency  a  long  way 
after,  they  instigated  a  general  attack  upon  King  and 
favourite  through  the  clerical  press  of  Germany.  It 
was  truly  remarked  in  one  of  the  independent  organs 
of  opinion  that  the  most  extreme  radical  could  not 
have  shown  less  regard  for  the  person  of  the  sovereign 
than  these  champions  of  legitimacy.  Caricature,  that 
pitiable  prostitution  of  a  divine  art,  was  assiduously 
employed.  Louis  was  represented  as  a  crowned  satyr, 
a  pug-dog,  an  ass  with  a  crown  tied  to  his  tail ;  Lola 
was  treated  with  even  less  regard  for  decency.  The  ape 
that  lurks  in  every  man  gibbered  in  every  clerical  rag. 
The  curious  may  inspect  some  choice  examples  of  this 
simian  humour  in  Herr  Fuchs's  interesting  work.  ^ 

Ridicule,  so  far  from  killing,  as  is  so  often  said,  can 
be  proved  by  history  to  be  the  least  potent  instrument 
of  attack  and  persecution  wielded  by  man.  Skits 
break  neither  bones  nor  thrones.  Ridicule  is  generally 
on  the  side  of  authority  and  reaction,  and  as  such,  in 
the  long  run,  on  the  losing  side.  Puritanism  survived 
the  raillery  of  seventeenth-century  wags  ;  the  North 
triumphed,  despite  the  loathsome  scurrilities  of  Punch  ; 
"  Napoleon  the  Little,"  succumbed  to  German  strategy, 
not  to  Victor  Hugo's  satiric  force ;  Teetotalism,  Socialism, 

^  "  Ein  Vonnoirzliches  Tanzidyll."     Berlin. 


Lola  Montez 

and  the  Cause  of  Woman  wax  stronger  daily,  in  spite 
of  the  humorists  of  the  music  halls  and  the  racing 
rags.  The  King  of  Bavaria  was  not  to  be  shamed  or 
affrighted  by  all  the  gutter  journalists  of  Germany. 
But  his  smile  became  a  little  grim.  Archbishop  Diepen- 
brock  remonstrated  with  him  as  to  his  assumed  relations 
with  the  dancer.  "  Stick  to  your  stola,  bishop/'  was 
the  Plantagenet-like  answer,  "  and  leave  me  my  Lola." 
He  claimed  for  his  domestic  affairs  the  privacy  enjoyed 
by  the  meanest  of  his  subjects.  His  regard  for  Lola 
and  respect  for  her  opinion  grew  stronger  daily.  Dismay 
spread  through  the  clerical  camp.  As  vilification  failed 
to  produce  any  sensible  effect,  bribery  was  attempted. 
At  the  instance,  no  doubt,  of  Metternich,  Louis's  sister, 
the  Dowager  Empress  Karoline  Augusta,  offered  the 
favourite  two  thousand  pounds  if  she  would  quit 
Bavaria.  The  offer  was  rejected,  in  what  terms  our 
knowledge  of  Lola's  character  enables  us  to  imagine. 
She  did  not  lack  money,  nor  did  she  crave  for  it.  She 
loved  power  for  its  own  sake,  and  power  she  now 
possessed.  Under  her  influence  Louis  recovered  his  sanity. 
The  liberal  instincts  of  his  youth  and  prime  revived. 
He  became  once  more  the  Grecian,  and  the  mediaeval 
fever  left  him.  His  impatience  of  clerical  control  grew 
more  evident  daily. 

"  And  Id,  a  blade  for  a  knight's  emprise 
Filled  the  fine  empty  sheath  of  a  man. — 
The  Duke  grew  straightway  brave  and  wise." 


134 


XX 

THE    ABEL    MEMORANDUM 

The  King's  change  of  policy  first  found  ofificial  expres- 
sion in  the  Royal  Decree  of  15th  December  1846, 
transferring  the  control  of  the  Departments  of  Educa- 
tion and  Public  Worship  from  Abel,  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  to  Baron  von  Schrenk.  The  effect  of 
this  measure  was  practically  to  remove  the  schools 
from  the  power  of  the  Jesuits.  Abel  saw  in  it  a  blow 
aimed  at  him  by  the  detested  Andalusierin.  He 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  King,  reminding  him  of  his 
zeal  and  devotion  to  the  Crown,  of  his  attachment  to 
his  person,  of  the  unpopularity  he  had  willingly  incurred 
in  order  to  subject  the  people  more  thoroughly  to  royal 
control.  Louis  was  not  greatly  affected  by  this  letter  ; 
we  seldom  earn  the  gratitude  of  others  by  reminding 
them  that  we  have  taken  upon  ourselves  blame  which 
ought  rightly  to  be  theirs.  He  was  ungrateful  enough 
to  say  that  he  had  no  sympathy  with  Abel's  pohcy, 
but  that  he  found  him  a  convenient  man  to  work  with. 
The  minister  hoped  that  the  King,  like  Henri  Quatre, 
would  prefer  his  servant  to  his  favourite,  but  he  was 
disappointed.  He  next  put  his  trust  in  Louis's  dis- 
inclination to  take  an  active  part  in  the  Government ; 
but  here  again  he  was  deceived.     The  King,  stimulated 

135 


Lola  Montez 

by  Lola,  began  to  exhibit  the  vigour  and  activity  of 
youth,  and  showed  a  disposition  to  rule  as  well  as  to 
reign.  Baron  von  Pechmann,  the  Chief  of  the  Munich 
Police,  was  less  patient  than  Abel,  and  ventured  to 
protest  against  the  consideration  shown  to  "a  mere 
adventuress."  The  King's  blue  eyes  kindled.  "  Be- 
gone !  "  he  exclaimed  angrily ;  "  you  will  find  the  air 
of  Landshut  purer  !  "  It  was  a  sentence  of  banishment 
which  the  minister  had  no  choice  but  to  obey. 

This  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  clericals  determined 
Louis  to  regularise  his  new  favourite  and  counsellor's 
position  in  his  kingdom,  and  to  establish  her  social 
rank.  He  proposed  to  raise  her  to  the  peerage,  and  as 
a  preliminary  measure  he  signed  letters  patent,  con- 
ferring upon  her  the  status  and  rights  of  a  Bavarian 
citizen.  According  to  the  constitution  this  decree 
had  to  be  countersigned  by  a  minister.  The  document 
was  placed  before  Abel  for  his  signature.  The  crisis 
had  come.  The  King  must  now  finally  decide  between 
minister  and  favourite,  in  other  words,  between  reaction 
and  progress.  Abel  summoned  his  colleagues  to  a 
council  and  the  following  remarkable  memorandum  to 
His  Majesty  was  the  result  of  their  deliberations.^ 

"  Sire, — There  are  circumstances  in  which  men 
invested  with  the  inappreciable  confidence  of  their 
sovereign,  and  charged  with  the  direction  of  affairs, 
are  called  upon  either  to  renounce  their  most  sacred 
duties  or  to  expose  themselves,  at  the  bidding  of  their 
consciences,  to  the  risk  of  incurring  the  displeasure  of 
their  beloved  monarch.  This  is  the  sad  necessity  to 
which  your  ministers  find  themselves  reduced  by  the 
royal  determination  to  grant  to  Sefiora  Lola  Montez 

^  I  have  used  and  slightly  abridged  the  translation  given  in  the 
Morning  Herald. 


The  Abel  Memorandum 

letters  of  naturalisation.  We  are  incapable  of  forgetting 
the  oaths  we  took  to  your  Majesty,  and  our  resolution 
has  never  been  for  a  moment  doubtful.  The  proposed 
naturalisation  of  Sefiora  Montez  was  openly  character- 
ised by  Councillor  von  Maurer  as  the  greatest  calamity 
with  which  Bavaria  could  be  afflicted.  This  was 
the  conviction  of  the  whole  Council,  and  the  opinion  of 
all  your  Majesty's  faithful  subjects.  Since  December 
last  the  eyes  of  the  nation  have  been  fixed  on  Munich. 
The  respect  for  the  sovereign  becomes  weaker  and 
weaker  in  all  minds,  because  on  all  sides  nothing  is 
heard  but  the  bitterest  blame  and  disapprobation. 
National  feehng  is  wounded  :  Bavaria  believes  itself 
to  be  governed  by  a  foreign  woman,  whose  reputation 
is  branded  in  public  opinion.  Men  like  the  Bishop  of 
Augsburg  [Dr.  Richarz],  whose  devotion  to  your 
Majesty  cannot  be  disputed,  daily  shed  bitter  tears 
for  what  is  passing  before  their  eyes  ;  the  ministers 
of  the  Interior  and  of  Finance  have  witnessed  his 
profound  affliction.  The  Prince  Bishop  of  Breslau 
[Dr.  Diepenbrock],  hearing  of  a  rumour  that  he  had 
countenanced  the  actual  state  of  things,  has  written 
to  persons  in  Munich  formally  and  most  emphatically 
expressing  his  disapprobation.  Flis  letter  is  no  longer 
a  secret,  and  will  soon  be  known  to  the  whole  country. 
Foreign  journals  every  day  relate  the  most  scandalous 
anecdotes,  and  make  the  most  degrading  attacks  on 
your  Majesty.  The  copj'-  of  the  Ulner  Chronik,  which 
we  subjoin,  is  a  proof  of  our  assertions.  In  vain  do 
the  police  attempt  to  stop  the  circulation  of  these 
journals,  which  are  everywhere  read  with  avidity. 
The  impression  which  thej^  leave  on  men's  minds  is 
by  no  means  doubtful.  It  is  the  same  from  Berchtes- 
gaden  and  Passau  to  Aschaffenburg  and  Zweibriicken. 
It  is  the  same  throughout  Europe,  in  the  cabin  of  the 
poor  and  the  palace  of  the  rich.  It  is  not  alone  the 
glory  and  well-being  of  your  Majesty's  Government 
that  is  compromised,  but  the  very  existence  of  royalty 
itself.     It  is  this  which  explains  the  joy  of  the  enemies 

137 


Lola  Montez 

of  the  throne,  and  the  profound  grief  and  despair  of 
all  who  are  faithfully  attached  to  your  Majesty,  and 
who  are  alive  to  the  dangers  greater  than  any  to  which 
it  has  been  exposed.  In  this  state  of  things,  it  is 
inevitable  that  what  is  passing  will  influence  the  army, 
and  if  this  bulwark  should  give  way,  where  would  be 
our  resource  ?  The  statement,  which  the  undersigned, 
whose  hearts  are  torn  with  anguish,  venture  to  place 
before  your  Majesty,  is  not  the  product  of  a  terrified 
irriagination,  but  of  observations  which  each  has  made 
within  the  circle  of  his  attributions,  during  several 
months.  The  effect  of  these  circumstances  in  the  ensuing 
parliamentary  session  may  easily  be  foreseen.  Each 
of  the  undersigned  is  ready  to  sacrifice  for  your  Majesty 
his  fortune  and  his  life.  Your  ministers  believe  that 
they  have  given  you  proofs  of  their  fidehty  and  attach- 
ment, but  it  is  for  them  a  doubly  sacred  duty  to  point 
out  to  your  Majesty  the  ever-increasing  danger  of  this 
situation.  We  beg  you  to  listen  to  our  humble  prayer, 
and  not  to  suppose  that  it  is  dictated  by  any  desire 
to  thwart  your  royal  will.  It  is  directed  only  against 
a  state  of  things  which  threatens  to  destroy  the  fair 
fame,  power,  and  future  happiness  of  a  beloved  King. 
Your  ministers  are  convinced,  after  earnest  deliberation, 
that  if  your  Majesty  should  not  deign  to  give  ear  to 
their  suppHcations,  they  are  bound  to  resign  the 
positions  to  which  the  kindness  and  confidence  of  their 
sovereign  has  called  them,  and  to  pray  your  Majesty 
to  remove  the  portfolios  with  which  they  are  entrusted, 
(Signed)    Von  Abel.      Von  Seinsheim. 

Von  GUMPPENBERG.        Von  SCHRENK. 
Munich,  nth  February  1847." 

This  extraordinary  address  exhibits  the  courage,  if 
not  the  tact  and  sense  of  humour  of  the  signatories  ; 
but  none  of  them  cared  to  present  it,  Abel  sent  it  by 
messenger  to  the  King,  who  perused  it  with  mingled 
amusement  and  indignation,  and  then  locked  it  in  his 

138 


The  Abel  Memorandum 

desk.  He  asked  Abel  if  this  was  the  only  copy  existing, 
and  was  answered  in  the  affirmative.  But  a  day  or 
two  later  the  memorandum  appeared  in  print  in  the 
columns  of  the  Augsburger  Zeitung.  A  preliminary 
draft  had  been  sent  by  Abel  to  a  fifth  minister,  Herr 
Von  Giese,  who  had  left  it  carelessly  upon  his  bureau. 
Here  it  was  scanned  with  interest  and  curiosity  by  his 
elderly  sister,  and  was  carried  off  by  her,  to  be  proudly 
exhibited  at  a  tea-party.  Handed  round  among  the 
guests  for  examination,  it  was  not  long  in  finding  its 
way  into  the  Press.  It  was  reproduced  in  the  French 
and  English  papers.  The  Times  devoted  an  editorial 
to  its  contents,  and  compared  the  excessive  sensibility 
of  the  Bishop  of  Augsburg  with  the  hardened  indifference 
of  the  English  hierarchy  to  the  transgressions  of  the 
fourth  George  and  William.  The  lachrymose  prelate 
contributed  hugely  to  the  gaiety  of  nations.  Bernstorff, 
the  Prussian  Ambassador,  considered  the  address 
wanting  in  respect  to  the  sovereign  ;  by  another  states- 
man it  was  qualified  as  unbecoming,  injudicious,  and 
crude.  More  heads  than  one,  it  was  remarked,  had 
been  lost  over  Lola.  No  one  could  have  been  more 
amused  than  the  lady  herself  by  this  astonishing 
memorandum. 

She  had  .indeed  good  cause  for  mirth.  The  indis- 
cretion of  the  Cabinet  brought  about  the  complete 
triumph  of  her  policy.  The  King  allowed  Abel  twenty- 
four  hours  to  reconsider  his  attitude,  and  as  the  minister 
stood  to  his  guns,  he  was  formally  dismissed  from  office 
on  i6th  February.  His  fall  involved  his  colleagues. 
Louis's  return  to  his  earlier  ideas,  consequent  upon  his 
relations  with  Lola,  was  made  evident  in  his  choice 
of  new  ministers.     The  portfolio  of  the  Interior  was 

139 


Lola  Montez 

entrusted  to  Baron  Zu  Rhein,  with  the  intimation  that 
His  Majesty  wished  to  be  served  by  men  sincerely 
attached  to  their  rehgion,  but  determined  to  resist  any 
encroachment  by  the  Church  upon  the  rights  of  the 
State.  Councillor  Maurer  became  Minister  of  Justice, 
having  presumably  recanted  the  views  attributed  to 
him  by  his  late  colleagues  in  the  memorandum.  He 
was  a  man  of  learning  and  Liberal  tendencies,  and  was 
the  first  Protestant  to  hold  Cabinet  rank  in  Bavaria. 
The  portfolios  of  finance  and  war  were  given  respec- 
tively to  Councillor  Zenetti  and  Major-General  von 
Hohenhausen.  The  whole  Cabinet  was  frankly  Liberal. 
Lola  had  coaxed  the  King  back  to  sanity,  and  inflicted 
a  signal  defeat  upon  the  clericals.  All  over  Germany 
she  was  acclaimed  as  the  heroine  of  Liberalism.  Metter- 
nich  groaned  over  the  deplorable  state  of  things  at 
Munich,  and  wrote  that  this  woman  had  become  an 
instrument  of  the  Radical  party.  Bernstorff  received 
the  news  of  the  fall  of  Abel's  Ministry  with  satisfaction, 
accompanied,  as  it  was,  by  Maurer's  assurance  that  the 
reign  of  the  Jesuits  in  Bavaria  was  at  an  end. 

It  was  at  her  evening  reception  at  her  house  in 
Theresienstrasse  that  Louis  came  to  announce  to  Lola 
the  dismissal  of  his  old  ministers,  and  his  unalterable 
attachment  to  her  and  to  her  policy.  "  I  will  not  give 
Lola  up,"  he  declared  ;  "I  will  never  give  up  that 
noble  princely  being.  My  kingdom  for  Lola!  "  Maurer 
was  obliged  to  consent  to  the  naturalisation  that  he 
had  described  as  a  national  calamity.  Lola  was  soon 
after  raised  to  the  peerage  with  the  titles  of  Countess 
of  Landsfeld^    and  Baroness  Rosenthal.      She  is  des- 

1  Frau  Von  Kobell  calls  her  Countess  of  Landsberg,  a  place  to  be 
found  on  the  map,  which  Landsfeld  is  not. 

140 


The  Abel  Memorandum 

cribed  in  the  register  of  Bavarian  nobility  as  Maria 
Dolores  Porris  y  Montez,  the  daughter  of  a  Carlist 
officer  and  Cuban  lady.  (That  the  daughter  of  a 
follower  of  Don  Carlos  should  be  a  deadly  foe  of  all 
that  was  Ultramontane  must  have  struck  her  friends 
and  opponents  as  odd.)  Her  titles  conveyed  with 
them  an  estate  of  importance,  and  certain  feudal 
rights — the  middle  and  the  low  justice,  perhaps — over 
two  thousand  souls.  She  was  made  a  canoness  of  the 
aristocratic  order  of  St.  Theresa,  of  which  the  Queen 
was  the  head.  To  enable  her  to  support  this  dignity 
the  King  endowed  her  with  an  annuity  of  twenty  thou- 
sand florins.  With  this  and  the  money  bequeathed 
her  by  Dujarier  she  was  now  rich.  A  palace  befitting 
her  position  was  ordered  to  be  built  for  her  in  Barer- 
strasse  after  the  design  of  the  architect,  Metzger,  who 
was  one  of  her  most  impassioned  admirers.  Her 
portrait  was  painted  by  royal  command,  and  placed  in 
the  Gallery  of  Beauties,  where  Louis,  it  is  said,  was 
accustomed  to  spend  hours  in  rapturous  contemplation. 


141 


XXI 

THE    INDISCRETIONS    OF    A    MONARCH 

Louis,  being  a  lover  of  the  old  school,  resorted  to  verse 
as  an  expression  of  his  sentiments  towards  his  new 
favourite.  The  editor  of  the  Times,  years  after,  des- 
cribed His  Majesty  as  something  of  a  poet,  in  a  small 
way.  How  very  small  that  way  was  the  following 
effusions  will  show.  They  were  translated  by  Mr. 
Francis,  afterwards  editor  of  the  Morning  Post  and 
Other  journals.  Unfortunately,  or  fortunately,  they 
convey  no  idea  of  the  odd  contortions  of  language 
characteristic  of  the  original. 

"  To  THE  Absent  Lolita 

"  The  world  hates  and  persecutes 
That  heart  which  gave  itself  to  me  : 
But  however  much  they  may  try  to  estrange  us. 
My  heart  will  cHng  the  more  fondly  to  thine. 

"  The  more  they  hate,  the  more  thou  art  beloved ; 
And  more  and  more  is  given  to  thee. 
I  shaU  never  be  torn  from  thee. 


143 


Lola  Montez 

"  Against  others  they  have  no  hate  ; 
It  is  against  thee  alone  they  are  enraged ; 
In  thee  everything  is  a  crime  ; 
Thy  words  alone,  as  deeds,  they  would  punish. 

"  But  the  heart's  goodness  shows  itself — 
Thou  hast  a  highly  elevated  mind ; 
Yet  the  little  who  deem  themselves  great 
Would  cast  thee  off  as  a  pariah. 

"  For  evermore  I  belong  to  thee  ; 
For  evermore  thou  belongest  to  me  : 
What  dehght  !    that  hke  the  wave 
Renews  itself  out  of  its  eternal  spring. 

"  By  thee  my  life  becomes  ennobled, 
Which  without  thee  was  sohtary  and  empty ; 
Thy  love  is  the  nutriment  of  my  heart. 
If  it  had  it  not,  it  would  die. 

"  And  though  thou  mightest  by  all  be  forsaken, 
I  will  never  abandon  thee  ; 
For  ever  will  I  preserve  for  thee 
Constancy  and  true  German  faith." 

The  next  verses  relate  to  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld, 
in  her  character  as  a  Liberal  martyr. 

"  From  thee,  beloved  one,  time  and  distance  separate  me, 
But  however  distant  thou  might 'st  be, 
I  should  ever  call  thee  my  own, 
Thou  eternally  bright  star  of  my  Hfe. 

"  The  wild  steed,  if  you  try  to  daunt  him. 
Prances,  the  bolder  only,  on  and  on  : 
The  ties  of  love  will  tie  us  so  much  closer. 
If  the  world  attempt  to  tear  thee  from  me. 

144 


LOUIS  I.      KING    OF    BAVARIA. 


The  Indiscretions  of  a  Monarch 

"  And  every  persecution  thou  endurest 
Becomes  a  new  link  in  the  chain 
Which,  because  thou  art  struggKng  for  truth, 
Thou  hast,  for  the  rest  of  my  hfe,  cast  around  me. 

"  Whether  near  or  far  off,  thou  art  mine, 
And  the  love  which  with  its  lustre  glorifies 
Is  ever  renewed  and  will  last  for  ever. 
For  evermore  our  faith  will  prove  itself  true." 

The  following  lines  are  a  sonnet  in  the  original, 
addressed  to  : — 

"  LoLiTA  AND  Louis 

"  Men  strive  with  restless  zeal  to  separate  us  ; 
Constantly  and  gloomily  they  plan  thy  destruction ; 
In  vain,  however,  are  always  their  endeavours, 
Because  they  know  themselves  alone,  not  us. 
Our  love  will  bloom  but  the  brighter  for  it  all — 
What  gives  us  bliss  cannot  be  divorced  from  us — 
Those  endless  flames  which  burn  with  sparkling  light. 
And  pervade  our  existence  with  enrapturing  fire. 
Two  rocks  are  we,  against  which  constantly  are  breaking 
The  adversaries'  craft,  the  enemies'  open  rage  ; 
But,  scorpion-Hke,  themselves,  they  pierce  with  deadly 

sting — • 
The  sanctuary  is  guarded  by  trust  and  faith  ; 
Thy  enemies'  cruelty  will  be  revenged  on  themselves — 
Love  will  compensate  for  all  that  we  have  suffered. 

"  In  the  following  sonnet,"  comments  the  translator, 
"  the  royal  poet  does  not  clearly  intimate  whether  he 
has  renounced  the  political  or  the  personal  rivals  of 
the  fair  Lolita  : — 

"  '  If,  for  my  sake,  thou  hast  renounced  all  ties, 
I,  too,  for  thee  have  broken  with  them  all ; 

145 


Lola  Montez 

Life  of  my  life,  I  am  thine — I  am  thy  thrall — 

I  hold  no  compact  with  thine  enemies. 

Their  blandishments  are  powerless  on  me, 

No  arts  will  serve  to  seduce  me  from  thee  ; 

The  power  of  love  raises  me  above  them. 

With  thee  my  earthly  pilgrimage  will  end. 

As  is  the  union  between  the  body  and  the  soul, 

So,  until  death,  with  thine  my  being  is  blended. 

In  thee  I  have  found  what  I  ne'er  yet  found  in  any — 

The  sight  of  thee  gave  new  hfe  to  my  being. 

All  feeling  for  any  other  has  died  away, 

For  my  eyes  read  in  thine — love  !  '  " 

The  final  example  of  the  King's  lyrical  genius  might 
be  inscribed  to  "  Lolita  in  Dejection."  It  is  dated 
the  evening  of  6tli  July  1847. 

"  A  glance  of  the  sun  of  former  days, 
A  ray  of  light  in  gloomy  night  ! 
Have  sounded  long-forgotten  strings. 
And  life  once  more  as  erst  was  bright. 

"  Thus  felt  I  on  that  night  of  gladness. 
When  all  was  joy  through  thee  alone  ; 
Thy  spirit  chased  from  mine  its  sadness. 
No  joy  was  greater  than  mine  own. 

"  Then  was  I  happy  for  feeling  more  deeply 
What  I  possessed  and  what  I  lost  ; 
It  seemed  that  thy  joy  then  went  for  ever. 
And  that  it  could  never  more  return. 

"  Thou  hast  lost  thy  cheerfulness. 
Persecution  has  robbed  thee  of  it ; 
It  has  deprived  thee  of  thy  health, 
The  happiness  of  thy  hfe  is  already  departed. 
146 


The  Indiscretions  of  a  Monarch 

"  But  the  firmer  only,  and  more  firmly 
Thou  hast  tied  me  to  thee  ; 
Thou  canst  never  draw  me  from  thee — 
Thou  sufferest  because  thou  lovest  me." 

The  King  of  Bavaria  was  not  a  poet ;  but,  as  a  critic 
said  of  Emile  Auger,  in  some  remote  corner  of  his  being, 
something  was  singing. 


147 


XXII 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  GOOD  HOPE 

The  Ultramontanes  had  no  intention  of  taking  their 
defeat  lying  down.  The  Jesuits  were  fighting  for  their 
very  existence  just  over  the  frontier  in  Switzerland  ; 
the  Sonderbund  or  Catholic  League  was  threatened 
with  an  attack  at  any  moment  by  the  forces  of  the  Con- 
federation. Austria  and  France  could  do  nothing  for 
the  League  through  fear  of  Palmerston,  but  it  is  very 
probable  that  help  was  expected  from  Bavaria,  on 
which  England  could  not  have  brought  any  direct 
pressure  to  bear.  Munich  was  the  asylum  of  Ultra- 
montane exiles  from  all  parts  of  Europe — of  French 
Legitimists,  Polish  Catholics,  and  Swiss  Jesuits.  In 
Lola's  action  they  detected  the  hand  of  the  arch-enemy, 
Palmerston.  Liberally  supplied  with  gold  from  Austria 
(as  Bernstorff  did  not  hesitate  to  allege),  these  champions 
of  legitimacy  sedulously  strove  to  inflame  the  people 
with  hatred  of  the  favourite.  Lola's  unfortunate 
temper  aided  their  exertions.  The  citizens  of  Munich 
disliked  being  boxed  on  the  ears  even  by  the  most 
beautiful  of  her  sex,  and  Baron  Pechmann,  who  had 
endeavoured  to  avenge  them,  had  been  banished, 
Lola,  like  all  people  of  a  rich,  generous  nature,  was  fond 
of  dogs.  In  London  she  had  bought  a  bull-dog  from 
a  man  who   told   Mark  Lemon,   with  a  very  proper 

149 


Lola  Montez 

professional  reservation,  that  the  lady  was  the  most 
beautiful  thing  he  had  ever  seen — on  two  legs.  The 
animal,  being  indisposed,  was  sent  by  his  devoted 
mistress  to  the  Veterinary  Hospital  at  Munich.  The 
patient  did  not  progress  very  rapidly  towards  recovery, 
and  Lola  remonstrated  with  the  medical  man  in  atten- 
dance. His  reply  was  too  brusque  for  her  taste.  Her 
ears  having  been  offended,  she  promptly  boxed  his. 
She  then  carried  off  her  darling,  who  was  soon  restored 
to  health  and  vigour.  So  complete  was  his  recovery 
that  a  week  or  two  later,  while  accompanying  his  mis- 
tress in  the  streets  of  Munich,  he  prepared  himself  to 
attack  a  carrier  who  was  walking  beside  his  cart.  The 
man  anticipated  the  onslaught  by  flicking  the  bull-dog 
with  his  whip.  The  enraged  Lola  at  once  smote  the 
man  on  the  ear.  The  assault  was  witnessed  by  several 
passers-by,  whose  threatening  attitude  compelled  her 
to  take  refuge  in  a  neighbouring  shop.  From  this 
dangerous  situation  she  was  delivered  only  by  the 
police.  Lola  and  the  King  laughed  good-humouredly 
over  these  incidents ;  the  people  of  Munich  were 
disposed  to  look  upon  them  as  deadly  outrages. 

The  new  favourite,  then,  was  not  likely  to  become 
popular  with  the  masses  ;  and  her  enemies  could  turn 
with  some  confidence  to  the  educated  classes,  as  far  as 
they  were  represented  at  the  University.  Students  in 
France,  Russia,  Italy,  and  indeed  most  civilised  countries, 
are  admittedly  hot-blooded,  enthusiastic  champions 
of  freedom  and  progress ;  in  some  states  they  are 
the  very  backbone  of  the  revolutionary  party.  In 
Bavaria  at  this  time,  on  the  contrary,  the  students, 
like  those  of  our  English  universities,  displayed  fervent 
devotion  to  the  ideals  of  their  grandmothers,  and  held 

150 


The  Ministry  of  Good  Hope 

tenaciously  by  the  standards  of  the  nurseries  they  had 
so  lately  quitted.     Munich  rivalled  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge in  its  zeal  for  Conservatism  and  obsolete  canons. 
Professor   Lassaulx,    therefore,    was    only   voicing   the 
sentiments  of  the  University  generally  when  he  presented 
an    address    to    Councillor    von    Abel,    deploring    that 
minister's  retirement,  and  congratulating  him  upon  his 
adherence  to  Ultramontane  principles.     This  was  tanta- 
mount to  a  vote  of  censure  on  the  sovereign.     Lassaulx 
was  at  once  deprived  of  his  chair,  despite  (it  is  said  by 
Dr.  Erdmann)  Lola's  earnest  entreaties  with  the  King. 
The  professor  received  a  tremendous  ovation  from  the 
students.     On  the  ist  March  1847  they  collected  in  the 
morning  outside  his  house  in  Theresienstrasse,  cheering 
him  vociferously.     Lola,  unluckily,  was  then  living  in 
the  same  street,  and  having  expressed  their  sympathy 
with  the  professor,  it  occurred  to  the  students  that  they 
might  as  well  express  their  disapprobation  of  the  woman 
to  whom  they  attributed  his  downfall.     Lola  was  at 
lunch   when   howls   and   hoots   and   cries   of   "  Pereat 
Lola  !  "  brought  her  to  the  window.     She  was  received 
with  yells  from  the  throats  of  two  hundred  stout,  beer- 
drinking,    Bavarian    burschen.     Amused   at    the    sight, 
and  undismayed,  as  she  ever  was,  she  derisively  toasted 
the  mob  in  a  glass  of  champagne  and  ate  chocolates 
while    she    watched    their    gyrations.     Her    coolness 
would  have  disarmed  the  enmity  of  an  English  crowd, 
and  sent  it  away  cheering.     But    the    sportsman-like 
qualities  are  not  specially  inculcated  by  the  disciples 
of  Loyola,  nor  were  perhaps  highly  esteemed  in  the 
Germany   of   that   date.     Presently   the   King  himself 
came  along  the  street,  and,  unmolested  and  unnoticed, 
quietly  elbowed  his  way  through  the  mob.     He  stood 

151 


Lola  Montez 

at  Lola's  door  composedly  contemplating  his  excited 
subjects.  He  turned  to  Councillor  Hormann,  whom  the 
noise  of  the  disturbance  had  also  brought  to  the  spot. 
"  If  she  were  called  Loyola  Montez,"  remarked  His 
Majesty,  "  I  suppose  they  would  cheer  her."  Then 
he  quietly  entered  the  house.  The  street  was  cleared 
by  the  mounted  police.  Louis  remained  all  the  after- 
noon at  his  favourite's  house,  and  when  night  fell, 
attempted  to  return  to  the  palace  on  foot,  and  unattended, 
as  he  had  come.  He  was  compelled  to  abandon  the 
attempt.  He  was  received  with  howls  and  threats, 
and  could  only  reach  his  residence  by  the  aid  of  a 
military  escort.  The  streets  were  filled  with  the  most 
dangerous  elements  in  the  city.  A  crowd  collected 
before  the  palace,  and  cheered  the  Queen,  who,  poor 
lady  !  must  have  been  embarrassed  by  this  demon- 
stration of  sympathy  with  the  emotions  of  wifely 
jealousy  and  injured  dignity  to  which  she  was  a  stranger! 
Before  day  broke  order  had  been  restored  by  the  sabres 
of  the  cuirassiers. 

Lola,  knowing  the  temper  of  her  countrymen,  saw 
in  this  attack  on  a  woman  a  sure  means  of  enlisting 
their  sympathies.  She  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Times 
in  which  she  gave  her  own  version  of  affairs  in  Bavaria 
in  the  following  terms  : — 

"  I  had  not  been  here  a  week  before  I  discovered 
that  there  was  a  plot  existing  in  the  town  to  get  me 
out  of  it,  and  that  the  party  was  the  Jesuit  party. 
Of  course,  you  are  aware  that  Bavaria  has  long  been 
their  stronghold,  and  Munich  their  headquarters. 
This,  naturally,  to  a  person  brought  up  and  instructed 
from  her  earliest  youth  to  detest  this  party  (I  think 
you  will  say  naturally)  irritated  me  not  a  little. 

152 


The  Ministry  of  Good  Hope 

"  When  they  saw  that  I  was  not  hkely  to  leave 
them,  they  commenced  on  another  tack,  and  tried  what 
bribery  would  do,  and  actually  offered  me  50,000 
francs  yearly  if  I  would  quit  Bavaria  and  promise 
never  to  return.  This,  as  you  may  imagine,  opened 
my  eyes,  and  as  I  indignantly  refused  their  offer,  they 
have  not  since  then  left  a  stone  unturned  to  get  rid  of 
me,  and  have  never  for  an  instant  ceased  persecuting 
me.  I  may  mention,  as  one  instance,  that  within  the 
last  week  a  Jesuit  professor  of  philosophy  at  the  Uni- 
versity here,  by  the  name  of  Lassaulx,  was  removed 
from  his  professorship,  upon  which  the  party  paid 
and  hired  a  mob  to  insult  me  and  break  the  windows 
of  my  palace,  and  also  to  attack  the  palace  ;  but, 
thanks  to  the  better  feehng  of  the  other  party,  and  the 
devotedness  of  the  soldiers  to  His  Majesty  and  his 
authority,  this  plot  likewise  failed." 

It  was,  in  fact,  as  disastrous  to  its  instigators  as  the 
famous  memorandum.  The  King  perceived  the 
University  to  be  a  hot-bed  of  clericalism,  and  promptly 
invited  the  majority  of  the  professors  to  transfer  their 
services  to  other  seats  of  learning,  or  to  abandon  this 
particular  sphere  of  usefulness  altogether.  Their 
chairs  were  filled  by  men  of  moderate  views.  At  the 
same  time  the  University  was  freed  from  the  oppressive 
surveillance  of  the  Ministry  ;  the  obnoxious  decrees 
affecting  the  sale  of  books  were  withdrawn ;  and  even  the 
undergraduates  felt  constrained  to  testify  their  gratitude 
to  the  liberal  King  by  means  of  a  torchlight  procession. 

Louis  and  his  new  ministers  were  not  wanting  in 
firmness.  Several  officers  and  civil  servants  were 
transferred  to  distant  stations,  and  otherwise  made  to 
feel  the  weight  of  the  royal  displeasure  for  having 
taken  part  in  an  Ultramontane  gathering  at  Adelholz, 
in  the  Bavarian  Highlands,  where  a  protest  was  raised 

^53 


Lola  Montez 

against  Lola's  elevation  to  the  peerage.  With  the  bulk 
of  the  people,  notwithstanding,  the  King's  popularity 
knew  no  diminution.  He  received  an  enthusiastic 
greeting  at  Bruckenau,  Kissingen,  and  Aschaffenburg, 
where  he  passed  the  summer.  He  wrote  to  his 
secretary  in  Munich,  on  27th  June  1847  *  "  I  ^^ 
very  satisfied  with  my  reception  throughout  my  whole 
progress  ;  "  and  on  31st  August :  "  I  was  surprised, 
agreeably  surprised,  by  my  evidently  joyful  reception 
in  the  Palatinate."  In  Franconia,  inhabited  largely  by 
Protestants,  the  King's  change  of  policy  was  naturally 
welcome.  Lola's  popularity  likewise  increased  by 
leaps  and  bounds,  though  her  uncontrollable  temper 
continued  to  lead  her  into  mischief.  A  furious  quarrel 
with  the  commandant  of  the  Wiirzburg  garrison  inter- 
rupted her  journey  north  to  join  the  Court  at  Aschaffen- 
burg. The  Queen,  meanwhile,  was  the  object  of  a 
demonstration  of  sympathy  at  Bamberg,  really  directed 
against  the  favourite.  Certain  sections  of  the  aris- 
tocracy held  aloof  from  the  Countess,  v/ith  that  stead- 
fast devotion  to  virtue  that  has  always  characterised 
their  order.  Lola  complained  of  their  attitude  to  His 
Majesty.  Questioned  by  him  they  alluded  to  the  lady's 
doubtful  antecedents  as  sufficient  justification  for  their 
refusal  to  present  her  to  their  wives.  The  King's 
answer  was  that  of  a  chivalrous  man  of  the  world  : 
"  What  other  woman  of  so-called  high  standing  would 
have  conducted  herself  better,  had  she  been  abandoned 
to  the  world,  young,  beautiful,  and  helpless  ?  Bah  ! 
I  know  them  all,  and  I  tell  you  I  don't  rate  too  highly 
the  much-belauded  virtue  of  the  inexperienced  and 
untried."  Louis  was  a  gentleman  as  well  as  a  prince, 
and  had  the  courage  to  protect  the  woman  he  loved. 

154 


The  Ministry  of  Good  Hope 

"  Mark  well,"  he  wrote  to  a  person  of  rank,  *'  if  you 
are  invited  to  the  house  the  King  frequents,  and  you 
do  not  come,  the  King  will  see  in  this  an  offence  against 
his  dignity,  and  his  displeasure  will  follow."  Louis's  rule 
for  his  courtiers  was,  in  short  :  "  Love  me,  love  Lola." 
Social  distinction  and  wealth  were  not  enough  to 
satisfy  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld.  She  was  not  content 
to  pull  the  wires  ;  she  wanted  the  appearance  of  power, 
as  well  as  its  substance.  She  longed  to  display  openly 
her  talents  as  a  ruler.  She  was  galled  by  the  affected 
indifference  of  statesmen,  who  could  not  in  reality  put 
a  single  measure  into  execution  without  her  sanction. 
While  all  Germany  acclaimed  her  as  the  Liberal  heroine, 
Zu  Rhein  was  able  afterguards  to  affirm  publicly  in  the 
Chamber  that  the  favourite  had  at  no  time  come  between 
the  Cabinet  and  the  sovereign,  nor  had  in  any  way 
governed  its  policy.  This  statement  may  be  accepted 
as  far  as  it  goes,  but  the  ministers  could  have  done 
nothing  without  the  King's  co-operation,  and  the  King 
never  denied  that  he  was  accustomed  to  consult  the 
Countess  on  all  affairs  of  state.  The  credit  of  the 
Zu  Rhein-Maurer  administration  rightly,  therefore, 
belongs  in  great  measure  to  her.  She  was  always  by 
the  King  to  keep  him  in  the  straight  way  of  reform,  to 
safeguard  him  against  a  relapse  into  Ultramontanism. 
She  not  unnaturally  chafed  at  what  must  have  seemed 
the  ingratitude  of  the  ministers.  She  had  not  yet 
forgiven  Maurer  for  his  reference  to  her  proposed 
naturalisation  as  a  calamity.  Now  she  regarded  him 
as  a  puppet  which  had  the  impudence  to  ignore  its 
maker.  He  got  the  credit  of  reforms,  she  told  herself, 
that  she  had  initiated.  Meantime,  the  clerical  Press 
bombarded  her  with  low  abuse.     She  demanded  the 

155 


Lola  Montez 

enforcement  of  the  censorship  and  the  suppression  of 
the  offending  journals.  Such  steps  as  these,  a  pro- 
fessedly Liberal  Government  was  loth  to  take.  A 
collision  took  place  between  the  favourite  and  "  the 
Ministry  of  Good  Hope,"  as  it  was  derisively  called. 
Lola  found  an  instrument  ready  to  her  hand  in 
Councillor  von  Berks,  whose  devotion  to  her  was 
warmer  than  a  merely  political  allegiance.  In  December, 
the  King  decided  to  reconstitute  the  Ministry.  He 
appointed  Berks  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  and 
to  Prince  Wallerstein,  lately  Bavarian  representative 
at  Paris,  he  gave  the  portfolio  of  foreign  affairs.  The 
new  Cabinet  was  composed  entirely  of  men  whoUy 
in  sympathy  with  the  views  of  both  sovereign  and 
favourite.  By  its  opponents  it  was  derisively  dubbed  the 
Lola  Ministry.  The  Miinchner  Zeitung  welcomed  its 
frank  and  whole-hearted  Liberalism  as  a  guarantee  of 
the  solution  of  all  the  problems  of  Bavaria's  internal 
and  foreign  policy.  Wallerstein  was  even  more  anti- 
clerical than  his  predecessors.  The  Sonderbund  was 
crushed  in  November  by  the  strategy  of  Dufour,  and 
the  Jesuits  came  flying  from  Switzerland  into  Bavaria. 
They  were  forbidden  to  remain  in  the  country  more 
than  a  few  days.  The  Press  was  not  gagged,  but 
conciliated.  Lola  was  acclaimed  as  the  good  genius  of 
Bavaria.  The  German  Liberals  hailed  her  as  a  valued 
ally.  To  her  influence  was  attributed  the  tardy  addi- 
tion of  Luther's  bust  to  the  collection  of  German 
worthies  in  the  Walhalla.  Punch,  as  a  suggestion  for  a 
colossal  statue  of  Bavaria,  represents  Lola  upholding 
a  banner  inscribed  "  Freedom  and  the  Cachuca."  The 
"  good  Uttle  thing  "  of  Simla  wielded  the  sceptre,  and 
wielded  it  well. 

156 


XXIII 

THE  UNCROWNED  QUEEN  OF  BAVARIA 

George  Henry  Francis,  an  English  journalist,  a 
resident  of  Munich  at  that  time,  and  afterwards  editor 
of  the  Morning  Post,  contributed  the  following  account 
of  Lola's  manner  of  life  at  this  period  to  Fraser's 
Magazine  for  January  1848  : — 

"  The  house  of  Lola  Montez  at  Munich  presents  an 
elegant  contrast  to  the  large,  cold,  lumbering  mansions, 
which  are  the  greatest  defect  in  the  general  architec- 
ture of  the  city.  It  is  a  bijou,  built  under  her  own  eye, 
by  her  own  architect,^  and  it  is  quite  unique  in  its  sim- 
plicity and  lightness.  It  is  of  two  storeys,  and,  allowing 
for  its  plainness,  is  in  the  Italian  style.  Elegant 
bronze  balconies  from  the  upper  windows,  designed 
by  herself,  reheve  the  plainness  of  the  exterior  ;  and 
long,  muslin  curtains,  shghtly  tinted,  and  drawn  close, 
so  as  to  cover  the  windows,  add  a  transparent,  shell- 
Hke  lightness  to  the  effect.  Any  Enghsh  gentleman 
(Lola  has  a  great  respect  for  England  and  the  Enghsh) 
can,  on  presenting  his  card,  see  the  interior  ;  but  it 
is  not  a  '  show  place.'  The  interior  surpasses  every- 
thing, even  in  Munich,  where  decorative  painting  and 
internal  fitting  has  been  carried  almost  to  perfection. 

*  This  was  the  house  built  by  Metzger,  now  number  19  Baxerstrasse. 


Lola  Montez 

We  are  not  going  to  write  an  upholsterer's  catalogue, 
but  as  everything  was  done  by  the  immediate  choice 
and  under  the  direction  of  the  fair  Lola,  the  general 
characteristics  of  the  place  will  serve  to  illustrate  her 
character.  Such  a  tigress,  one  would  think,  would 
scarcely  choose  so  beautiful  a  den.  The  smallness  of 
the  house  precludes  much  splendour.  Its  place  is 
supplied  by  French  elegance,  Munich  art,  and  English 
comfort.  The  walls  of  the  chief  room  are  exquisitely 
painted  by  the  first  artists  from  the  designs  found  in 
Hercuianeum  and  Pompeii,  but  selected  with  great 
taste  by  Lola  Montez.  The  furniture  is  not  gaudily 
rich,  but  elegant  enough  to  harmonise  with  the  decor- 
ations. A  small  winter  room,  adjoining  the  larger  one, 
is  fitted  up,  quite  in  the  English  style,  with  papered 
walls,  sofas,  easy-chairs,  all  of  elegant  shape.  A  chim- 
ney, with  a  first-rate  grate  of  English  manufacture, 
and  rich,  thick  carpets  and  rugs,  complete  the  illusion  ; 
the  walls  are  hung  with  pictures,  among  them  a 
Raphael.  There  are  also  some  of  the  best  works  of 
modern  German  painters  ;  a  good  portrait  of  the  King  ; 
and  a  very  bad  one  of  the  mistress  of  the  mansion.  The 
rest  of  the  estabhshment  bespeaks  equally  the  exquisite 
taste  of  the  fair  owner.  The  drawing-rooms  and  her 
boudoir  are  perfect  gems.  Books,  not  of  a  frivolous 
kind,  borrowed  from  the  royal  library,  lie  about,  and 
help  to  show  what  are  the  habits  of  this  modem  Amazon. 
Add  to  these  a  piano  and  a  guitar,  on  both  of  which 
she  accompanies  herself  with  considerable  taste  and  some 
skill,  and  an  embroidery  frame,  at  which  she  produces 
works  that  put  to  shame  the  best  of  those  exhibited 
for  sale  in  England  ;  so  that  you  see  she  is  positively 
compelled  at  times  to  resort  to  some  amusement  be- 
coming her  sex,  as  a  relief  from  those  more  mascuhne 
or  unworthy  occupations  in  which,  according  to  her 
reverend  enemies,  she  emulates  alternately  the  example 
of  Peter  the  Great  and  Catharine  IL  The  rest  of  the 
appointments  of  the  place  are  in  keeping  :  the  coach- 
house and  stabling  (her  equipages  are  extremely  modest 

158 


The  Uncrowned  Queen  of  Bavaria 

and  her  household  no  more  numerous  or  ostentatious 
than  those  of  a  gentlewoman  of  means),  the  culinary 
offices,  and  an  exquisite  bath-room,  into  which  the 
hght  comes  tinted  with  rose-colour.  At  the  back  of 
the  house  is  a  large  flower-garden,  in  which,  during  the 
summer,  most  of  the  political  consultations  between 
the  fair  Countess  and  her  sovereign  are  held. 

"  For  her  habits  of  life,  they  are  simple.  She  eats 
little,  and  of  plain  food,  cooked  in  the  English  fashion  ; 
drinks  little,  keeps  good  hours,  rises  early,  and  labours 
much.  The  morning,  before  and  after  breakfast,  is 
devoted  to  what  we  must  call  semi-public  business.  The 
innumerable  letters  she  receives  and  affairs  she  has  to 
arrange,  keep  herself  and  her  secretary  constantly  em- 
ployed during  some  hours.  At  breakfast  she  holds  a  sort 
of  levee  of  persons  of  all  sorts — ministers  in  esse  or 
in  posse,  professors,  artists,  English  strangers,  and 
foreigners  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  As  is  usual  with 
women  of  an  active  mind,  she  is  a  great  talker  ;  but 
although  an  egotist,  and  with  her  full  share  of  the  vanity 
of  her  sex,  she  understands  the  art  of  conversation 
sufficiently  never  to  be  wearisome.  Indeed,  although 
capable  of  violent  but  evanescent  passions — of  deep 
but  not  revengeful  animosities,  and  occasionally  of 
trivialities  and  weaknesses  very  often  found  in  persons 
suddenly  raised  to  great  power — she  can  be,  and  almost 
always  is,  a  very  charming  person  and  a  delightful 
companion.  Her  manners  are  distinguished,  she  is  a 
graceful  and  hospitable  hostess,  and  she  understands 
the  art  of  dressing  to  perfection. 

"  The  fair  despot  is  passionately  fond  of  homage. 
She  is  merciless  in  her  man-killing  propensities,  and 
those  gentlemen  attending  her  levees  or  her  soirees,  who 
are  perhaps  too  much  absorbed  in  politics  or  art  to  be 
enamoured  of  her  personal  charms,  willingly  pay  respect 
to  her  mental  attractions  and  conversational  powers. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  Lola  Montez  has  many  of  the 
faults  recorded  of  others  in  like  situations.  She  loves 
power  for  its  own  sake  ;   she  is  too  hasty  and  too  stead- 

159 


Lola  Montez 

fast  in  her  dislikes  ;  she  has  not  sufficiently  learned  to 
curb  the  passion  which  seems  natural  to  her  Spanish 
blood  ;  she  is  capricious,  and  quite  capable,  when  her 
temper  is  inflamed,  of  rudeness,  which,  however,  she 
is  the  first  to  regret  and  to  apologise  for.  One  absorbing 
idea  she  has  which  poisons  her  peace.  She  has  devoted 
her  life  to  the  extirpation  of  the  Jesuits,  root  and  branch, 
from  Bavaria.  She  is  too  ready  to  believe  in  their 
active  influence,  and  too  early  overlooks  their  passive 
influence.  Every  one  whom  she  does  not  hke,  her 
prejudice  transforms  into  a  Jesuit.  Jesuits  stare  at 
her  in  the  streets,  and  peep  out  from  the  corners  of 
her  rooms.  All  the  world,  adverse  to  herself,  are 
puppets  moved  to  mock  and  annoy  her  by  these  dark 
and  invisible  agents.  At  the  same  time  she  has, 
doubtless,  had  good  cause  for  this  animosity  ;  but  these 
restless  suspicions  are  a  weakness  quite  incompatible 
with  the  strength  of  mind,  the  force  of  character,  and 
determination  of  purpose  she  exhibits  in  other  respects. 
"  As  a  political  character,  she  holds  an  important 
position  in  Bavaria,  besides  having  agents  and  corre- 
spondents in  various  Courts  of  Europe.  The  King 
generally  visits  her  in  the  morning  from  eleven  till 
twelve,  or  one  o'clock  ;  sometimes  she  is  summoned 
to  the  palace  to  consult  with  him,  or  with  the  ministers, 
on  state  affairs.  It  is  probable  that  during  her  habits 
of  intimacy  with  some  of  the  principal  political  writers 
of  Paris,  she  acquired  that  knowledge  of  politics  and 
insight  into  the  manoeuvres  of  diplomatists  and  states- 
men which  she  now  turns  to  advantage  in  her  new 
sphere  of  action.  On  foreign  politics  she  seems  to 
have  very  clear  ideas  ;  and  her  novel  and  powerful 
method  of  expressing  them  has  a  great  charm  for  the 
King,  who  has  himself  a  comprehensive  mind.  On 
the  internal  politics  of  Bavaria  she  has  the  good  sense 
not  to  rely  upon  her  own  judgment,  but  to  consult 
these  whose  studies  and  occupations  qualify  them  to 
afford  information.  For  the  rest,  she  is  treated  by 
the  pohtical  men  of  the  country  as  a  substantive  power  ; 

i6o 


The  Uncrowned  Queen  of  Bavaria 

and,  however  much  they  may  secretly  rebel  against 
her  influence,  they,  at  least,  find  it  good  policy  to 
acknowledge  it.  Whatever  indiscretions  she  may,  in 
other  respects,  commit,  she  always  keeps  state  secrets, 
and  can,  therefore,  be  consulted  with  perfect  safety,  in 
cases  where  her  original  habits  of  thought  render  her 
of  invaluable  service.  Acting  under  advice,  which 
entirely  accords  with  the  King's  own  general  prin- 
ciples, His  Majesty  has  pledged  himself  to  a  course 
of  steady  but  gradual  improvement,  which  is  calculated 
to  increase  the  political  freedom  and  material  pros- 
perity of  his  kingdom,  without  risking  that  unity  of 
power,  which,  in  the  present  state  of  European  affairs, 
is  essential  to  its  protection  and  advancement.  One 
thing  in  her  praise  is,  that  although  she  really  wields 
so  much  power,  she  never  uses  it  either  for  the  promo- 
tion of  unworthy  persons  or,  as  other  favourites  have 
done,  for  corrupt  purposes.  Her  creation  as  Countess 
of  Landsfeld,  which  has  alienated  from  her  some  of  her 
most  honest  Liberal  supporters,  who  wished  her  still 
to  continue  in  rank,  as  well  as  in  purposes,  one  of  the 
people,  while  it  has  exasperated  against  her  the  power- 
less, because  impoverished,  nobilit}^  wast  he  unsolicited 
act  of  the  King,  legally  effected  with  the  consent  of 
the  Crown  Prince.  Without  entrenching  too  far  upon 
a  delicate  subject,  it  may  be  added,  that  she  is  not 
regarded  with  contempt  or  detestation  by  either  the 
male  or  the  female  members  of  the  Royal  family. 
She  is  regarded  by  them  rather  as  a  political  personage 
than  as  the  King's  favourite.  Her  income,  including 
a  recent  addition  from  the  King,  is  seventy  thousand 
florins,  or  little  more  than  five  thousand  pounds. 
While  upon  this  subject  of  her  position,  it  may  be  added, 
that  it  is  reported,  on  good  authority,  that  the  Queen 
of  Bavaria  (to  whom,  by  the  way,  the  King  has  always 
paid  the  most  scrupulous  attentions  due  to  her  as  his 
wife)  very  recently  made  a  voluntary  communication 
to  her  husband,  apparently  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
princes  and  other  member  of  the  Royal   family,  that 

i6i 


M 


Lola  Montez 

should  the  King  desire,  at  any  future  time,  that  the 
Countess  should,  as  a  matter  of  right,  be  presented  at 
Court,  she  (the  Queen)  would  offer  no  obstacle. 

"  The  relation  subsisting  between  the  King  of  Bavaria 
and  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld  is  not  of  a  coarse 
or  vulgar  character.  The  King  has  a  highly  poetical 
mind,  and  sees  his  favourite  through  his  imagination. 
Knowing  perfectly  well  what  her  antecedents  have 
been,  he  takes  her  as  she  is,  and  finding  in  her  an  agree- 
able and  intellectual  companion,  and  an  honest,  plain- 
spoken  councillor,  he  fuses  the  reahty  with  the  ideal 
in  one  deep  sentiment  of  affectionate  respect." 


162 


XXIV 


THE    DOWNFALL 


This  view  of  the  King's  sentiments  towards  his  favour- 
ite was  not  acceptable  to  that  lady's  political  enemies. 
It  is  to  be  observed,  also,  that  the  champions  of  ortho- 
dox morality  are  the  hardest  to  persuade  of  the  actual 
existence  or  possibility  of  virtue  in  the  individual.  It 
would  seem  at  times  that  they  doubt  the  efficacy  of 
baptismal  waters  to  wash  out  original  sin.  Morality 
finds  strange  champions  in  all  lands.  The  House  of 
Lords,  the  racing  papers,  the  transpontine  stage,  and 
the  Irish  moon-lighters  have  all  been  found  at  one 
time  or  another  on  the  side  of  the  angels.  In  Bavaria 
in  1848  the  University  students,  still  for  the  greater 
part  leavened  by  Ultramontane  doctrines,  posed  as  the 
vindicators  of  Christian  morality,  and  spoke  of  Lola 
as  the  Scarlet  Woman.  With  singular  inconsistency 
they  continued  to  profess  their  devotion  to  the  King, 
who  must  have  obviously  been  in  their  eyes,  a  partner 
in  the  woman's  guilt.  The  Catholic  Church  does  not 
discriminate  between  the  sexes  as  regards  this  particu- 
lar offence  ;  moreover,  evil  example  in  a  prince  is  held 
by  all  moralists  to  be  more  serious  than  in  a  private 
person.  Lola,  also,  was  believed  to  be  single  ;  Louis 
was  living  with   his   wife.     The   man's  offence,   then, 

163 


Lola  Montez 

would  seem  from  every  point  of  view  to  have  been 
graver  ;  nor  could  it  have  been  excused  on  the  ground 
of  weakness  of  will  or  understanding,  for  this  in  a 
king  would  itself  have  aggravated  his  guilt.  The  under- 
graduates of  Munich,  however,  being  pupils  of  the  Jesuits 
and  presumably  skilled  in  casuistry,  would  no  doubt 
have  been  able  to  explain  an  attitude  which  appears 
inconsistent  to  the  non-academic  mind. 

All  the  members  of  the  University  were  not  under  the 
thumb  of  the  clericals.  Two  or  three  students  of  the 
corps  Palatia  (Pfalz) — probably  Protestants — did  not 
hesitate  to  appear  at  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld's  salon, 
which  was  the  resort  of  the  most  brilliant  people  in 
Munich.  Lola's  fancy  was  taken  by  the  colours  of  the 
corps,  and  she  playfully  stuck  one  of  the  young  fellows' 
caps  on  her  pretty  head.  The  students  were,  in  conse- 
quence, expelled  from  their  association.  A  large 
number  of  Liberal  students  thereupon  seceded  from  their 
respective  corps  and  formed  a  new  one,  appropriately 
called  Alemannia.  The  new  body  was  at  once  recog- 
nised by  the  King,  and  endowed  with  all  the  privileges 
of  an  ancient  corps.  Lola  insisted  upon  providing 
every  member  with  an  exceedingly  smart  uniform,  at 
her  own  expense,  and  with  delight  saw  them  establish 
their  head-quarters  in  a  house  backing  upon  her  own. 
The  Alemannia  became  her  devoted  bodyguard.  They 
watched  her  house,  they  escorted  her  in  the  street. 
She  graced  their  festivals,  dressed  in  the  close-fitting 
uniform  of  the  corps.  Berks  entertained  them  to  a 
banquet  at  the  palace  of  Nymphenburg,  and  in  a 
stirring  speech  publicly  commended  their  zeal  for  the 
cause  of  enlightenment,  humanity  and  progress. 

Conflicts  between  the  Alemannen  and  the  other  corps 

164 


The  Downfall 

were  frequent.  The  University  was  split  into  two 
bitterly,  venomously  hostile  camps,  and  Lola's  partisans, 
being  the  fewer,  seemed  likely  to  have  the  worst  of 
it.  The  Rector,  Thiersch,  intervened,  and  publicly 
took  the  new  corps  under  his  protection.  For  this  act 
he  was  thanked  by  the  King.  But  the  mutual  hatred 
of  the  factions  knew  no  abatement.  Now  the  wires 
began  to  feel  the  touch  of  other  operators  than  the 
Jesuits.  The  revolutionary  party  was  gathering 
strength  in  the  winter  of  1847-8.  Any  rod  was  good 
enough  to  beat  a  King  with,  and  no  means  or  agents 
were  to  be  despised  which  would  weaken  his  authority, 
and  the  respect  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  subjects. 
As  to  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld,  she  had  played  her  part : 
she  had  struck  a  mortal  blow  at  the  Jesuits,  she  had 
kept  Bavaria  in  leash  while  Switzerland  throttled  the 
Sonderbund.  Now,  the  Liberals  could  do  without  her. 
Her  downfall  would  involve  the  King's.  The  situation 
was  promising.  The  Radicals  determined  to  let  the 
Clericals  pull  the  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire. 

The  death  of  Gorres,  a  former  revolutionary  who  had 
turned  mystic  and  Ultramontane  in  his  latter  years, 
was  the  signal  for  a  formidable  explosion.  The  police 
forbade  any  speech-making  at  his  funeral,  which  took 
place  on  31st  January  1848,  but  were  unable  to  prevent 
a  pilgrimage  to  his  grave,  organised  by  the  Ultramon- 
tane students,  a  week  later.  The  corps  Franconia, 
Bavaria,  Isar,  and  Suabia,  turned  out  in  force.  The 
procession  soon  resolved  itself  into  a  demonstration 
against  the  King's  favourite.  The  fierce  hostile  murmur 
of  the  mob  reached  the  ears  of  Lola  in  her  palace 
in  Barerstrasse.  She  could,  without  loss  of  honour  or 
dignity,   have  ignored  the  demonstration  :    an  angry 

165 


Lola  Montez 

mob  is  a  foe  which  a  brave  man  hesitates  to  meet 
single-handed.  But  Lola  Montez  knew  not  the  meaning 
of  fear.  With  incredible  rashness  and  magnificent 
courage  she  deliberately  went  out  into  the  street  to 
meet  her  enemies  face  to  face.  She  was  received  with 
groans  and  insult.  "  Very  well,"  she  cried,  "  I  will 
have  the  University  closed  !  "  This  haughty  threat 
maddened  the  crowd.  A  rush  was  made  for  her.  A 
gallant  band  of  Alemannen  closed  round  to  defend  her. 
Their  leader.  Count  Hirschberg,  attempted  to  use  a 
dagger  in  his  own  defence,  but  it  was  wrested  from  him, 
and  he  was  severely  injured.  Lola,  forced  at  last  to 
yield  before  superior  numbers,  retreated  into  the  Church 
of  the  Theatines.  The  Catholic  rowdies,  not  daring  to 
violate  the  right  of  sanctuary,  laid  siege  to  the  building, 
and  were  dispersed  with  difficulty  by  the  military. 
The  Ultramontanes  reckoned  it  a  glorious  day ;  it 
was  such,  indeed,  for  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld,  who 
displayed  a  courage  on  this  occasion  of  which  no  king 
or  prince  has  ever  given  proof  in  any  revolutionary 
crisis.  The  picture  of  this  woman,  attended  only  by 
two  or  three  students,  deliberately  going  out  to  meet 
a  band  of  her  infuriated  enemies,  is  one  which  deserves 
a  place  in  the  gallery  of  heroic  deeds. 

The  King  immediately  gave  effect  to  Lola's  threat. 
On  9th  February  he  signed  a  decree  closing  the  Univer- 
sity, and  ordered  all  students  not  natives  of  the  city 
to  leave  it  within  twenty-four  hours.  The  edict  threw 
all  Munich  into  consternation.  The  departure  of  up- 
wards of  a  thousand  young  men,  many  of  them  wealthy 
and  well-connected,  meant  a  serious  blow  to  trade  and 
a  rending  of  innumerable  social  ties.  The  students 
marched,  singing  songs  of  adieu,  to  present  a  valedictory 

166 


The  Downfall 

address  to  the  Rector.  The  citizens  bestirred  them- 
selves, and  to  the  number  of  two  thousand  signed  a 
petition,  imploring  His  Majesty  to  reconsider  the 
decision.  Louis  inclined  a  favourable  ear  to  their 
prayers,  and  announced  on  loth  February  that  the 
University  would  remain  closed  only  for  the  summer 
term. 

This  act  of  weakness  cost  Louis  L  his  mistress  and 
his  crown. 

The  revolutionary  party  perceived  that  this  was  the 
moment  to  strike.  The  King  had  yielded  ;  the  students 
were  exultant  and  conscious  of  their  strength  ;  the 
townsfolk  were  weary  of  this  ceaseless  conflict  between 
the  Countess  and  her  foes.  Your  good,  old-fashioned 
burgher  cares  nothing  for  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  a 
public  dispute  ;  he  wishes  to  be  left  in  peace  to  turn 
a  penny  into  three  half-pence,  and  to  achieve  that  end 
is  as  ready  to  sacrifice  the  innocent  as  the  guilty.  Jacob 
Vennedey,  a  publicist  and  Radical  famous  in  his  day, 
writing  from  Frankfort,  did  his  utmost  to  fan  the  flame 
of  revolution. 

"  The  King  of  Bavaria,"  so  ran  an  article,  "  wastes 
the  sweat  of  the  poor  country  on  mistresses  and  their 
followers.  Everybody  knows  that  the  jewellery  which 
Lola  wore  lately  at  the  theatre  cost  60,000  guldens  ; 
that  her  house  in  the  Barerstrasse  is  a  fairy  palace  ; 
that  the  Cabinet,  the  Council  of  State,  and  the  whole 
civil  service  are  at  her  beck  and  call ;  that  the  gendar- 
merie and  military  are  her  particular  escort ;  that  the 
best  Catholic  professors  at  the  University  have  been 
dismissed  at  her  caprice.  For  the  people  nothing  is 
done." 

The  last  statement  was  untrue.     If,  too,  the  sixty 

167 


Lola  Montez 

thousand  guldens  had  come  out  of  the  people's  pockets, 
Lola  had  well  earned  them  by  her  services  in  emanci- 
pating the  country  from  its  clerical  oppressors. 

Louis's  concession  came  too  late — if  it  should  have 
been  made  at  all.  On  the  morning  of  nth  February, 
Munich  was  in  insurrection.  Students  and  citizens 
flew  to  arms,  and  mustered  in  dense  masses  before  the 
palace,  and  in  the  squares,  loudly  demanding  the 
expulsion  of  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld  and  the  imme- 
diate reopening  of  the  University.  The  situation, 
ministers  thought,  was  critical.  The  King  summoned 
a  Cabinet  Council,  and  was  prevailed  upon  to  accede  to 
the  demands  of  his  insurgent  subjects.  He  who  had 
sworn  before  all  the  world  that  he  would  never  give 
up  Lola,  now  signed  a  decree  for  her  banishment  from 
Munich.  To  save  his  crown  he  broke  all  the  solemn 
pledges  he  had  given  her.  It  was  a  base  capitulation. 
But  Louis  of  Bavaria  was  an  old  man,  sixty-two  years 
of  age.  His  vows  had  been  those  of  a  young  lover ; 
but  he  wanted  the  youthful  strength  of  will  and  hand 
that  should  have  defended  his  mistress  against  an  armed 
nation.  Peace — peace — is  ever  the  craving,  the  last  and 
strongest  passion  of  age. 

The  King's  surrender  to  their  demands  was  made 
known  at  midday  to  the  angry  crowds  before  the 
Rathaus.  The  silly  mob  hailed  with  delight  the  down- 
fall of  the  woman  who  had  set  them  free  to  keep  their 
own  consciences,  and  speak  their  minds.  The  King's 
decision  was  communicated  to  Lola  by  an  aide-de-camp. 
She  was  commanded  to  withdraw  at  once  from  the 
capital.  The  intrepid  woman  could  with  difficulty  be 
persuaded  to  credit  the  officer's  words.  Such  pusil- 
lanimity was  incomprehensible  to  her.     She  could  not 

i68 


The  Downfall 

believe  that  the  King  would  abandon  her  without 
drawing  the  sword.  Lieutenant  Niissbaum,  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  disturbance,  had  been  locked  by  a 
friend  in  an  upper  storey  room  to  keep  him  out  of  danger, 
but  at  the  risk  of  breaking  his  neck,  the  young  officer 
had  jumped  from  the  window  and  hastened  to  offer  his 
sword  to  the  defenceless  woman  ;  but  the  King  of 
Bavaria  had  surrendered  without  striking  a  blow.  His 
own  signature  at  last  satisfied  Lola  of  this.  She  looked 
up  and  down  the  street.  No — there  was  not  a  single 
soldier  or  gendarme  to  protect  her.  Not  for  an  instant 
did  her  nerve  forsake  her.  With  a  smihng  face  she 
quitted  the  house  where  she  had  for  nearly  a  year 
directed  the  fortunes  of  a  kingdom.  She  took  the 
Augsburg  train,  as  if  en  route  for  Lindau  ;  but  alighted 
at  a  wayside  station  and  drove  to  Blutenburg,  a  few 
miles  from  Munich,  three  of  her  faithful  Alemannen— 
Peisner,   Hertheim,  and  Laibinger — escorting  her. 

The  rabble,  who  feared  her  manlike  valour,  did  not 
attempt  to  molest  her  in  her  retreat,  but  having  made 
sure  that  she  was  gone,  they  broke  into  her  house, 
pillaging  and  wrecking.  A  curious,  unaccountable 
impulse  drew  the  King  to  the  spot,  where  he  must  have 
passed  many  of  the  happiest  hours  of  his  life.  With 
strange  emotions  he  must  have  watched  the  human 
swine  routing  in  this  bower  of  Venus.  He  stood  there, 
a  pathetic  figure — an  old  man  surveying  the  wreckage 
of  his  last  and  supreme  passion.  Unheeded  and  seem- 
ingly unrecognised,  he  was  suddenly  dealt  a  violent 
blow  on  the  head,  probably  by  a  revolutionary  agent, 
and  tottered  back  to  his  palace,  bruised  and  dazed. 

The  next  night,  disguised  in  man's  clothes,  Lola  the 
intrepid  sHpped  back  into  Munich,  and  took  refuge  in 

169 


Lola  Montez 

the  house  of  her  loyal  partisan,  Berks.  She  sent  a 
secret  message  to  the  Kmg,  confident  that  if  she  could 
see  him,  she  could  regain  her  power.  Those  must  have 
been  anxious  moments,  while  she  was  awaiting  the 
reply.  It  came  at  last,  in  the  form  of  a  letter  brought 
by  two  police  commissaries,  Weber  and  Dichtl.  The 
King  refused  to  see  her,  and  wished  that  he  had  come 
to  that  decision  before.  She  turned  to  the  officials. 
They  read  an  order  for  her  expulsion  from  Bavaria. 
Lola  tore  the  document  to  pieces  and  threw  them  in 
their  faces.  Not  till  they  presented  their  pistols  at 
her  bosom  did  she  consent  to  accompany  them.  It 
was  reported  that  she  had  been  sent  to  Lindau  on  the 
Bodensee,  thence  to  be  conducted  into  Switzerland. 
In  reality,  Louis  had  selected  for  her  the  oddest  and 
most  fantastic  place  of  seclusion.  The  mental  crisis 
through  which  he  had  passed  seems  to  have  weakened 
his  understanding,  and  he  actually  was  persuaded  by 
his  new  clerical  friends  that  Lola's  power  over  him  was 
due  to  witchcraft.  These  enlightened  Ultramontanes 
repeated  some  ridiculous  yarn  about  a  great  black  bird 
that  visited  her  room  by  night.  At  a  place  called 
Weinsberg  lived  a  man  named  Justinus  Kerner,  who 
exercised  the  profession  of  an  exorcist  or  expeller  of 
devils.  To  this  person's  custody  was  Lola  confided 
on  17th  February,  as  was  first  learnt  from  the 
charlatan's  letters,  published  some  ten  or  fifteen  years 
ago.  ^     In  one  of  these  he  says  : — 

"  Lola  Montez  arrived  here  the  day  before  yesterday, 
accompanied  by  three  Alemannen.  It  is  vexatious 
that  the  King  should  have  sent  her  to  me,  but  they 

^  Fuchs,    "  Ein  Vormarzliches  Tanzidyll." 
170 


The  Downfall 

have  told  him  that  she  is  possessed.  Before  treating 
her  with  magic  and  magnetism,  I  am  trying  the  hunger 
cure.  I  allow  her  only  thirteen  drops  of  raspberry 
water,  and  the  quarter  of  a  wafer.  Tell  no  one  about 
this — burn  this  letter." 

To  another  correspondent  Kerner  writes  : — 

"  Lola  has  grown  astonishingly  thin.  My  son, 
Theobald,  has  mesmerised  her,  and  I  let  her  drink 
asses'  milk." 

That  the  fiery,  man-compelling  Countess  should  have 
submitted  to  this  disagreeable  tomfoolery,  certainly 
seems  to  suggest  hypnotic  influence.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  from  the  strain  of  the  preceding  few  days  a  nervous 
breakdown  had  resulted.  Or,  again,  she  may  have 
lingered  on  at  Kerner's,  in  the  hope  that  the  King's 
love  for  her  would  revive.  But  before  the  month  of 
February  was  over  she  had  shaken  off  for  ever  the  dust 
of  Bavaria,  and  was  safe  in  free  Switzerland.  Peisner, 
Hertheim,  and  Laibinger  followed  her  into  exile.  Lieu- 
tenant Niissbaum,  dismissed  from  the  Bavarian  army 
because  of  his  devotion  to  her,  found  a  soldier's  grave 
before  the  redoubts  of  Diippel. 


171 


XXV 

THE  RISING    OF    THE   PEOPLES 

Louis  of  Bavaria  had  sacrificed  his  self-respect  and 
the  woman  he  loved  to  wear  the  crown  a  few  years 
longer.  The  sacrifice  proved  futile.  The  expulsion  of 
the  strongest  personality  in  Bavaria  was  merely  the 
first  act  in  the  programme  of  the  revolutionary  party. 
On  24th  February  the  King  of  the  French  was  hurled 
from  his  throne,  and  every  sovereign  in  Europe  trembled. 
The  spirit  of  the  Revolution  spread  from  state  to  state 
with  amazing  rapidity.  Encouraged  by  the  King's 
late  compliance,  the  citizens  of  Munich  once  more 
gathered  in  their  strength  and  demanded  that  the 
Chambers  should  be  convoked  forthwith.  Louis 
refused  to  summon  a  Parliament  before  the  end  of 
May.  Nor  would  he  consent  to  the  dismissal  of  Berks. 
On  the  2nd  March  barricades  were  erected  in  the  prin- 
cipal streets,  and  two  days  later  the  arsenal  was  attacked 
by  the  people,  and  carried  after  a  short  struggle.  Again 
Louis  yielded  to  his  fears,  and  dismissed  the  unpopular 
minister ;  again  the  surrender  came  too  late.  The 
spark  of  insurrection  in  Munich  had  now  become 
absorbed  in  the  mighty  flame  of  a  great  European  revolu- 
tion. Everywhere  the  people  were  feeling  their  strength. 
The  Middle  Ages,  even  in  Germany,  had  at  last  come  to 

173 


Lola  Montez 

an  end.  Six  thousand  men,  armed  with  muskets, 
swords,  hatchets,  and  pikes,  surged  round  the  royal 
palace.  In  the  market-place,  the  troops  were  ordered 
to  fire  on  the  insurgents.  They  remained  motionless, 
leaning  on  their  muskets.  Some  one  called  for  cheers 
for  the  Republic  ;  the  crowd  responded  heartily.  Then 
up  rode  Prince  Charles  of  Bavaria,  the  King's  brother, 
and  announced  that  His  Majesty  had  conceded  all  the 
demands  of  his  people  and  pledged  his  royal  word  to 
summon  the  Chambers  on  the  i6th  of  the  month. 
With  this  assurance  the  excited  people  feigned  to  be 
content,  and  returned  to  their  homes. 

But  the  opening  of  the  Parliamentary  session  was 
attended  by  a  renewal  of  the  disturbances,  A  report 
circulated  that  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld  had  returned 
to  the  city.  The  silly  people  again  flew  to  arms,  and 
demolished  the  ministry  of  police.  To  calm  the  tumult 
the  King  published  a  decree,  withdrawing  the  rights 
of  citizenship  from  his  exiled  favourite,  and  forbidding 
her  to  re-enter  his  dominions.  With  this  disgraceful 
act  of  violence  to  his  personal  feelings,  Louis  lost  all 
taste  for  kingship.  Rumours  of  his  impending  abdi- 
cation spread  through  the  capital,  and  now  the  demo- 
cratic party  stood  in  fear  of  an  Ultramontane  conspiracy 
to  defeat  their  own  policy.  More  rioting  ensued.  The 
Landwehr  were  eager  to  rescue  the  King  from  the 
hands  of  his  supposed  enemies  in  the  palace.  But  the 
old  man  was  weary  of  the  whole  comedy,  and  craved 
only  peace.  On  21st  March  1848  he  took  leave  of  his 
people  in  the  following  proclamation  : — 

"  Bavarians, — A  new  state  of  feeling  has  begun — 
a  state  which  differs  essentially  from  that  embodied  in 

174 


The  Rising  of  the  Peoples 

the  Constitution  according  to  which  I  have  governed 
the  country  twenty-three  years.  I  abdicate  my  crown 
in  favour  of  my  beloved  son,  the  Crown  Prince  Maxi- 
mihan.  My  government  has  been  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  Constitution  ;  my  hfe  has  been  dedicated  to 
the  welfare  of  my  people.  I  have  administered  the 
public  money  and  property  as  if  I  had  been  a  republican 
officer,  and  I  can  boldly  encounter  the  severest  scrutiny. 
I  offer  my  heartfelt  thanks  to  all  who  have  adhered  to 
me  faithfully,  and  though  I  descend  from  the  throne, 
my  heart  still  glows  with  affection  for  Bavaria  and  for 
Germany.  Louis." 

Less  than  six  Weeks  thus  elapsed  between  the  down- 
fall of  Lola  Montez  and  the  dethronement  of  the  king 
who  had  not  been  man  enough  to  uphold  her.  Had 
the  positions  been  reversed — had  the  woman  been  able 
to  command  one  tithe  of  the  forces  of  which  Louis 
could  dispose — ^not  the  most  powerful  coalition  of  parties 
would  have  driven  her  from  the  throne  without  the 
bloodiest  of  struggles.  In  her,  as  was  said  of  the 
Duchesse  de  Berry,  there  was  mind  and  heart  enough 
for  a  dozen  kings.  The  country  that  so  angrily  threw 
off  the  unofficial  yoke  of  its  one  strong-minded  ruler, 
has  since  acknowledged  the  sway  of  two  raving  madmen. 
The  Bavarians  prefer  King  Log  to  King  Stork. 

Louis  soon  recovered  his  popularity  with  his  late 
subjects.  The  cares  and  ambitions  of  kingship  put 
aside,  the  tempestuous  emotions  of  manhood  at  last 
exhausted,  the  old  man  was  now  free  to  devote  himself 
wholly  to  his  first  and  last  love.  Art.  Though  now  a 
private  person,  his  interest  in  the  embellishment  of 
Munich  and  the  enrichment  of  the  city's  collections 
never  waned.  He  maintained  more  than  one  residence 
in  Bavaria,   and  was  indeed  a  familiar  and  well-liked 

175 


Lola  Montez 

figure  in  the  streets  of  his  old  capital ;  but  most  of  his 
remaining  years  he  spent  wandering  in  Italy  and  the 
south  of  France.  He  lived  to  witness  the  expulsion  of 
his  son,  Otto,  from  the  throne  of  Greece  ;  the  death 
of  his  other  son  and  successor,  Maximilian  II. ;  and  the 
humiliation  of  his  country  by  the  arms  of  ever-broad- 
ening Prussia.  But  he  could  always  find  consolation 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  beautiful,  and  in  the  society 
of  men  of  wit  and  genius.  The  last  twenty  years  of 
his  life  were,  perhaps,  the  happiest  he  had  known.  He 
died  at  Nice  on  29th  February  1868,  in  the  eighty- 
third  year  of  his  age.  You  may  see  his  equestrian 
statue  at  Munich,  but  the  whole  city  is  virtually  his 
monument.  A  great  man  he  was  not,  but  he  was  the 
greatest  king  Bavaria  has  yet  known.  So  he  passed 
from  the  stage  of  history  : — 

"  A  courteous  prince,  and  sociable,  sympathetic 
gentleman  ;  a  poet,  too,  in  a  small  way,  taking  off  his 
diamond  collar  at  Weimar,  and  putting  it  round  Goethe's 
neck  ;  he  had  a  gracious,  winning,  kingly  way  of  his 
own,  and  many  as  were  his  faults  and  his  foibles,  neither 
his  son  nor  his  grandson  supplanted  him  in  the  affections 
of  the  Bavarian  people."  ^ 

1  Times,  4th  March  1868. 


176 


XXVI 

LOLA  IN   SEARCH  OF  A  HOME 

"  Her  last  hope  for  Bavaria  being  broken,"  Lola  (to 
use  her  own  words)  "  turned  her  attention  towards 
Switzerland,  as  the  nearest  shelter  from  the  storm 
that  was  beating  above  her  head.  She  had  influenced 
the  King  of  Bavaria  to  withhold  his  consent  from  a 
proposition  by  Austria,  which  had  for  its  object  the 
destruction  of  that  little  republic  of  Switzerland.  If 
repubhcs  are  ungrateful,  Switzerland  certainly  was  not 
so  to  Lola  Montez  ;  for  it  received  her  with  open  arms, 
made  her  its  guest,  and  generously  offered  to  bestow 
an  establishment  upon  her  for  life." 

At  Bern,  the  quaint,  beautiful  old  city  of  fountains 
and  arcades,  the  deposed  dictatrix  of  Bavaria  found  a 
pleasant  asylum.  She  was  greeted  with  especial  cordi- 
ality by  the  English  Charge  d'Affaires,  Mr.  Robert  Peel 
(son  of  the  more  celebrated  statesman  of  the  same  name), 
whose  fine  presence,  gaiety  of  manner,  and  brilliant 
conversational  powers  rendered  him  a  universal  favour- 
ite. Peel  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the  anti-clerical 
policy  of  the  Government  to  which  he  was  accredited, 
and  on  political  grounds  alone,  must  have  felt  the 
strongest  sympathy  for  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld. 
Peisner,  Hertheim,  and  Laibinger  seem  to  have  at  last 
parted  company  with  Lola  at  Bern,  for  a  letter  in  her 
handwriting  is  preserved,  dated  from  that  city,  2nd 

177 


Lola  Montez 

March  1848,  alluding  to  their  probable  departure,  and 
directing  that  a  packet  be  forwarded  to  Peisner. 

From  the  terraces  of  Bern,  Lola  looked  forth  over 
Europe  and  beheld  the  utter  discomfiture  of  her  enemies. 
If  she  craved  revenge,  here  was  enough  and  a  surfeit. 
Metternich,  the  mighty  minister,  whose  gold  had  con- 
tributed to  her  undoing,  was  dismissed  and  driven  into 
exile  after  forty  years  of  unquestioned  sway.  Every- 
where Liberal  principles  were  in  the  ascendant.  Louis 
of  Bavaria,  who  had  not  dared  to  save  her,  had  now 
shown  himself  unable  to  defend  his  own  throne.  Lola 
must  have  been  more  than  human  if  she  experienced 
no  inward  exultation  at  the  downfall  of  those  who  had 
basely  abandoned  her.  The  reign  of  her  clerical  foes 
and  conquerors  had  indeed  been  short-lived.  Too  late 
did  they  realise  that  they  had  been  merely  the  instru- 
ments of  their  natural  antagonists,  the  extreme  revo- 
lutionary party. 

But  if  the  situation  of  Europe  in  the  spring  of  1848 
afforded  satisfaction  to  Lola's  vindictive  instincts,  it 
offered  little  incentive  to  her  ambition.  The  men  who 
were  shaping  the  nation's  destinies  were  cast  in  the 
stem,  republican  mould,  and  disdained  to  use  the  charms 
and  wiles  of  a  woman  in  the  furtherance  of  their  ends. 
Issues  were  being  fought  out  on  the  battlefield,  not  in 
the  boudoir.  Nor  did  any  state,  from  the  Baltic  to 
the  Mediterranean,  present  even  such  shght  evidences 
of  stability  as  a  high-flying  adventuress  might  found 
her  plans  upon.  To  re-enter  the  political  arena  at  such 
a  moment  was  to  plunge  headlong  into  a  whirlpool. 
The  old  order  had  changed.  The  world,  hardly  tolerant 
of  kings,  would  no  longer  brook  the  domination  of  their 
favourites,   wise  or  unwise.     The  princes  pulled  long 

178 


Lola  in  Search  of  a  Home 

faces,  and  swore  that  the  Constitution  and  the  Cate- 
chism should  be  henceforward  their  only  rule  of  life. 
They  vowed  to  live  like  respectable  citizens,  indulging 
their  amiable  weaknesses  only  in  privacy.  Pericles 
must  no  longer  converse  on  affairs  of  state  with  Aspasia 
in  the  market  place.  Beauty  must  exert  what  power 
it  could  in  the  boudoir  and  on  the  back  stairs.  For 
half  a  century  woman  as  a  political  factor  almost 
ceased  to  be.  Only  in  our  own  day  has  her  voice 
again  been  heard,  demanding  in  stern,  menacing  tones 
her  right  to  a  larger,  nobler  part  in  the  councils  of  the 
nations  than  the  Pompadours  and  Maintenons  ever 
dreamed  of. 

Weary,  it  may  be  conceived,  of  affairs  of  state,  of 
strife  and  intrigue,  conscious  that  she  had  played  in 
her  greatest  role,  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld  quitted 
Switzerland,  once  more  to  try  her  fortunes  in  England. 
She  had  stepped  down  from  the  throne  for  ever.  She 
embarked  for  London  at  Rotterdam  on  8th  April  1848. 
By  the  irony  of  fate,  it  was  ordered  that  the  bitterest, 
and  once  the  most  powerful,  of  her  foes,  the  fallen 
minister,  Metternich,  should  be  waiting  at  the  same 
port  seeking  the  same  destination.  The  news  of  the 
Chartist  demonstration  alone  prevented  him  sailing  by 
the  same  vessel.  "  I  thank  God,"  he  piously  remarks, 
"  for  having  preserved  me  from  contact  with  her." 
Assuredly,  the  meeting  would  have  been  a  painful  and 
ignominious  one  for  the  fallen  minister,  at  any  rate. 

Lola's  arrival  in  the  troubled  state  of  England  passed 
almost  unnoticed.  She  determined  to  try  her  fortunes 
once  more  upon  the  stage,  and  found,  of  course,  as  a 
celebrity,  that  she  was  persona  grata  to  the  managers 
and  agents.     The  directors  of  Covent  Garden  conceived 

179 


Lola  Montez 

the  ingenious  idea  of  presenting  her  as  herself  in  a 
dramatic  representation  of  the  recent  events  at  Munich. 
The  play  was  written  and  entitled,  "  Lola  Montez,  ou 
la  Comtesse  d'une  Heure,"  but  the  Lord  Chamberlain 
declined  to  license  a  performance  in  which  living  royal 
personages  were  introduced.^  The  scheme  fell  through, 
and  Lola,  having  a  private  income  to  fall  back  upon, 
retired  into  lodgings  at  27  Halfmoon  Street,  Mayfair. 
There  "  she  invited  a  few  men,  including  myself," 
writes  the  Hon.  F.  Leveson  Gower,  "  to  visit  her  in 
the  evening.  She  had  lost  much  of  her  good  looks, 
but  her  animated  conversation  was  entertaining."  ^ 
The  journalist,  George  Augustus  Sala,  then  a  very 
young  man,  describes  Lola  on  the  contrary,  as, a  very 
handsome  lady,  "  originally  the  wife  of  a  solicitor," 
whom  he  met  at  a  little  cigar-shop,  under  the  pillars, 
in  Norreys  Street,  Regent  Street.  She  proposed  that 
he  should  write  her  life,  "  starting  with  the  assumption 
that  she  was  a  daughter  of  the  famous  matador,  Montes."* 
Lola's  imaginative  powers,  especially  when  directed  to 
inventing  romantic  origins  for  herself,  rivalled  those  of 
the  heroine  of  "  The  Dynamiter."  Lord  Brougham, 
that  learned  but  relatively  susceptible  Chancellor,  she 
also  claimed  acquaintance  with  ;  he  lived  not  far  from 
her,  in  Grafton  Street.  It  is  probable  that  a  woman 
of  Lola's  beauty,  wit,  and  remarkable  attainments 
would  have  numbered  the  most  brilliant  and  distin- 
guished men  in  London  among  her  associates,  whatever 
attitude  may  have  been  assumed  towards  her  by  the 
little  clique  of  prigs  and  prudes  that  arrogated  to  itself 
the  title  of  Society. 

1  So  says  Mr.  Boase  in  the  "Dictionary  of  National  Biography," 
but  quotes  no  authority.  *  "  Bygone  Years,"  1905. 

2  "  Life  and  Adventures  of  G.  A.  Sala,"  1896. 

180 


XXVII 

A  SECOND   EXPERIMENT  IN  MATRIMONY 

The  company  of  any  number  of  agreeable  men  about 
town  and  the  amenities  of  life  in  a  Mayfair  lodging- 
house  were  not,  however,  likely  to  content  a  woman 
who  had  lately  ruled  a  kingdom.  Experience,  it  is 
true,  had  taught  Lola  to  set  limits  to  her  ambition. 
She  had  succeeded  in  her  design  of  hooking  a  prince, 
but  the  catch  had  been  torn  off  the  hook  with  consider- 
able violence  to  the  angler.  It  was  of  no  use  again 
to  cast  her  line  into  royal  waters.  The  fish  were  now 
too  wary.  After  the  ordeal  through  which  she  had 
passed,  Lola  sighed  for  some  enduring  ties  and  an 
established  position.  She  yearned  as  the  most  fiery 
and  erratic  do  at  one  time  or  another,  for  a  home. 
Some  think  that  they  who  have  loved  most,  love  best ; 
but  I  imagine  Lola  was  a  trifle  weary  of  love  just  then, 
and  longed  for  some  felicity  more  stable  and  material. 
She  inclined,  in  fact,  towards  the  sweet  yoke  of  domes- 
ticity, which  was  quite  a  fashionable  institution  in 
England  at  that  time.  Among  her  visitors  was  a  Mr. 
George  Trafford  Heald,  son  of  a  rich  Chancery  barrister, 
and  a  cornet  in  the  Second  Life  Guards.  This  gallant 
officer  is  described  as  a  tall  young  man,  of  juvenile 
figure  and  aspect,  with  straight  hair  and  small  light 

i8i 


Lola  Montez 

brown  downy  mustachios  and  whiskers  ;  his  turned-up 
nose  gave  him  an  air  of  great  simphcity.  As,  however, 
he  had,  on  his  coming  of  age  in  January  1849,  inherited 
a  fortune  of  between  six  and  seven  thousand  pounds 
per  annum,  he  was  considered,  especially  by  unattached 
ladies,  in  and  out  of  society,  a  very  interesting  person. 
He  was  very  much  in  love  with  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld 
who,  no  doubt,  easily  persuaded  herself  that  she  enter- 
tained a  strong  affection  for  so  eligible  a  suitor.  In 
this  respect  Lola  was,  it  is  safe  to  say,  no  more  mercen- 
ary than  half  the  good  and  well-brought-up  young 
ladies  who  were  looking  out  for  a  good  match  that 
season.  Heald  seems  to  have  been  what  women  call 
a  nice  boy  ;  in  many  ways  he  probably  contrasted 
favourably  with  Lola's  bolder,  more  experienced 
wooers.  So  when  (with  many  blushes,  and  in  shy 
stammering  words,  I  doubt  not)  he  offered  the  adven- 
turess his  hand  and  heart  and  fortune,  she  was  able 
without  any  natural  repugnance  to  consent  to  be  his 
wife. 

That  she  ever  doubted  that  she  was  free  to  wed 
again  is  not  to  be  supposed.  In  all  likelihood,  she  had 
been  made  acquainted  with  her  divorce  from  Captain 
James  only  through  the  medium  of  the  newspapers, 
and  these  would  lead  any  one  to  believe  that  the  divorce 
had  been  made  absolute.  It  was,  therefore,  without 
any  apprehension  that  she  married  Cornet  Heald  at 
St.  George's,  Hanover  Square,  on  19th  July  1849.  As 
she  left  the  church  on  the  arm  of  her  youthful  husband, 
she  must  have  thought  half-regretfuUy  of  the  career 
of  adventure  that  was  ended,  and  yet  looked  forward 
with  complacency  to  the  life  of  respectability  and 
affluence  that  seemed  to  stretch  before  her. 

182 


A  Second  Experiment  in  Matrimony 

Vain  hope  !  By  the  common  domestic  women  of 
her  time  Lola  was  regarded  with  bitter  hatred.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  analyse  this  species  of  animosity.  It 
is  compounded,  apparently,  of  jealousy,  of  some  vague 
religious  sentiment  of  inherited  prejudice,  and  of  the 
trade-unionist's  dislike  for  the  blackleg.  This  attitude, 
though  instinctive,  is  not  unreasonable  on  the  part  of 
the  vast  numbers  of  women  who  consider  marriage  a 
profession,  but  it  is  more  difficult  to  understand  in 
the  case  of  an  aged  lady,  long  since  resigned  to  celibacy. 
Such  a  spinster  was  Miss  Susanna  Heald,  of  Headington 
Grove,  Horncastle,  the  aunt  of  Cornet  George.  This 
lady  manifested  great  displeasure  at  her  nephew's 
marriage  ;  and,  certain  facts  having  been  communi- 
cated to  her  by  Lola's  numerous  enemies,  she  forthwith 
set  in  motion  that  efficient  engine  of  man's  injustice, 
the  English  law. 

The  honeymoon  of  the  newly-wed  pair,  if  they  had 
one  at  all,  was  brief,  for  it  was  on  6th  August,  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  as  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld 
was  stepping  into  her  carriage,  at  27  Half  moon  Street, 
that  Police  Sergeant  Gray  and  Inspector  Whall  quietly 
requested  a  word  or  two  with  her.  They  explained 
that  they  held  a  warrant  for  her  arrest  on  a  charge  of 
bigamy,  she  having  intermarried  with  Cornet  Heald 
while  her  lawful  husband.  Captain  James,  was  still 
alive.  Lola  replied  that  she  had  been  divorced  from 
the  captain  by  an  act  of  Parliament.  She  added  with 
characteristic  petulence :  "I  don't  know  whether 
Captain  James  is  alive  or  not,  and  I  don't  care.  I  was 
married  in  a  wrong  name,  and  it  wasn't  a  legal  marriage. 
Lord  Brougham  was  present  when  the  divorce  was 
granted,    and   Captain   Osborne   can   prove   it.     What 

183 


Lola  Montez 

will  the  King  say  ?  "  she  murmured,  as  an  after- thought, 
and  referring  no  doubt  to  her  late  royal  protector. 

They  drove  to  the  police-station,  and  thence  to 
Marlborough  Street  Police  Court.  The  rumour  of  the 
arrest  had  spread  abroad,  and  the  approaches  to  the 
court  were  thronged  with  people,  eager  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  famous  Countess  of  Landsfeld.  The  "  respectable 
married  women  "  in  the  crowd  no  doubt  exulted  at 
the  anticipated  downfall  of  the  woman  who  could  bind 
men's  hearts  without  the  chains  of  law  or  Church. 

"  About  half -past  one  o'clock,"  says  the  reporter, 
"  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld,  leaning  on  the  arm  of 
Mr.  Heald,  her  present  husband,  came  into  court,  and 
was  accommodated  with  a  seat  in  front  of  the  bar. 
Mr.  Heald  was  also  allowed  to  have  a  chair  beside  her. 
The  lady  appeared  quite  unembarrassed,  and  smiled 
several  times  as  she  made  remarks  to  her  husband. 
She  was  stated  to  be  24  years  of  age  on  the  police-sheet, 
but  has  the  look  of  a  woman  of  at  least  30.  [She  was, 
in  fact,  31.]  She  was  dressed  in  black  silk,  with  close 
fitting  black  velvet  jacket,  a  plain  white  straw  bonnet 
trimmed  with  blue,  and  blue  veil.  In  figure  she  is 
rather  plump,  and  of  middle  height,  of  pale  dark  com- 
plexion, the  lower  part  of  the  features  symmetrical, 
the  upper  part  not  so  good,  owing  to  rather  prominent 
cheek  bones,  but  set  off  by  a  pair  of  unusually  large 
blue  eyes  with  long  black  lashes.  Her  reputed  husband, 
Mr.  Heald,  during  the  whole  of  the  proceedings,  sat 
with  the  countess's  hand  clasped  in  both  of  his 
own,  occasionally  giving  it  a  fervent  squeeze,  and  at 
particular  parts  of  the  evidence  whispering  to  her  with 
the  fondest  air,  and  pressing  her  hand  to  his  lips  with 
juvenile  warmth."  ^ 

The    magistrate,    Mr.    Peregrine    Bingham,    having 

^  Times,  7th  August  1849. 
184 


A  Second  Experiment  in  Matrimony 

taken  his  seat,  Mr.  Clarkson  opened  the  case  for  the 
prosecution.  "  Sir,"  he  began,  "  however  painful  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  lady  who  sits  at  my  left 
(Miss  Heald)  is  placed,  she  has  felt  it  to  be  a  duty  to 
her  deceased  brother,  the  father  of  the  young  gentleman 
now  in  court,  to  lay  before  you  the  evidence  of  this 
young  gentleman's  marriage  with  the  lady  at  the  bar, 
and  also  other  evidence  which  has  led  her  to  impute 
the  offence  of  bigamy  to  that  lady."  The  learned 
counsel  then  went  on  to  state  that  Lola  had  been  married 
to  Thomas  James  in  Ireland,  in  July  1837,  ^^at  a 
divorce  only  a  toro  et  mensd  {i.e.,  a  judicial  separation) 
had  been  pronounced  by  the  Consistory  Court  in  1842, 
and  that  Captain  James  was  alive  in  India  thirty-six 
days  before  the  celebration  of  the  second  marriage 
with  Heald.  He  deprecated  any  sort  of  allusion  to 
the  defendant's  distinction  or  notoriety,  concluding  : 
"  I  am  further  bound  to  state  that  this  proceeding  is 
on  the  part  of  the  aunt,  Miss  Heald,  without  the  consent 
of  Mr.  Heald,  her  nephew,  who  would,  no  doubt,  if  he 
could,  prevent  these  proceedings  from  being  carried 
on.  No  one,  I  think,  will  venture  to  impugn  the 
motives  or  the  purity  of  the  intentions  of  Miss  Heald 
in  taking  this  step.  My  application  is  for  the  lady 
at  the  bar  to  be  remanded  till  we  can  get  the  proper 
witnesses  from  India  to  come  forward." 

Miss  Heald,  who  went  into  the  witness-box,  explained 
her  relationship  to  the  accused's  second  husband,  said 
she  had  been  his  guardian,  and  stated  she  considered 
it  was  her  duty  to  prosecute  this  enquiry.  When  old 
ladies  do  any  one  a  bad  turn  or  make  themselves  a 
nuisance,  they  always  explain  that  they  are  prompted 
by  a  sense  of  duty.     For  my  part,  I  take  up  the  challenge 

185 


Lola  Montez 

thrown  down  sixty  years  ago  by  Mr.  Clarkson,  and  I 
impugn  the  purity  of  his  chent's  motives.  If  it  had 
been  her  object  to  prevent  any  family  complications 
in  the  future,  such  as  might  have  arisen  from  the  birth 
of  children  to  Lola  and  her  nephew,  she  could  have  laid 
the  facts  before  them  in  private  ;  and  if  they  had 
refused  to  separate,  she  should  have  remained  for  ever 
silent.  I  entertain  no  doubt  whatever  that  Miss  Susanna 
Heald  wished  to  ruin  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld,  and 
that  this  was  at  any  rate  one  of  her  motives  in 
instituting  police  court  proceedings. 

The  rest  of  the  evidence  was  purely  formal,  and 
included  the  testimony  of  Captain  Ingram,  in  whose 
ship  Lola  had  come  to  England  seven  years  before. 

Mr.  Bodkin  appeared  on  behalf  of  the  lady,  who  had 
been  dragged  that  morning  to  a  station-house,  to  answer 
a  charge  which,  in  all  his  professional  experience,  was 
perfectly  unparalleled.  He  never  recollected  a  case  of 
bigamy  in  which  neither  the  first  nor  the  second  husband 
came  forward  in  the  character  of  a  complaining  party. 
The  matter,  would,  however,  undergo  investigation, 
and  if  anything  illegal  had  been  done,  those  who  had 
done  the  illegality  would  be  held  responsible  for  their 
conduct.  As  far  as  the  proof  had  gone  he  was  willing 
to  admit  enough  had  been  laid  before  the  court  to  justify 
further  enquiry.  At  the  proper  time  he  should  be 
prepared  to  show  that  the  marriage  with  Mr.  Heald 
was  a  lawful  act.  It  would  seem  that  the  lady  had  been 
married  when  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old,  and 
that  a  divorce  had  taken  place.  It  was  evident  that 
the  lady  had  a  strong  impression  that  a  divorce  bill 
had  been  obtained  in  the  House  of  Lords.  This,  how- 
ever, might  be  a  mistake,  into  which  the  lady  would  be 

i86 


A  Second  Experiment  in  Matrimony 

likely  to  fall  from  her  ignorance  of  our  laws.  Enough 
had  been  stated  to  show  that  even  had  the  imputed 
offence  been  committed,  it  had  been  committed  in 
circumstances  that  appeared  to  justify  the  act.  He 
asked  the  court  to  admit  the  lady  to  bail,  to  appear 
upon  such  a  day  as  might  be  agreed  upon.  It  was  in 
the  highest  degree  improbable  that  the  parties  most 
interested  would  attempt  to  evade  an  enquiry  of  this 
sort.  He  made  no  reflection  on  the  rriotives  of  the 
prosecution,  but  it  must  be  clear  that  a  private  and  not 
a  public  object  originated  the  proceedings. 

Mr.  Bodkin  had  not  detected  the  flaw  in  his  adver- 
sary's case,  and  he  had  conceded  too  much  to  the 
prosecution.  The  magistrate's  decision  must  have 
mortified  his  professional  feelings  as  much  as  it  chagrined 
the  amiable  Miss  Heald. 

"  Mr.  Bingham,  after  a  short  consultation  with  Mr. 
Hardwick,  said :  '  It  is  observable  in  the  present  case 
that  the  person  most  immediately  interested  (a  person 
of  full  age  and  holding  a  commission  in  Her  Majesty's 
army)  is  not  the  person  to  institute  or  to  countenance 
the  prosecution.  It  is  quite  compatible  with  the 
evidence  now  produced  that  the  accused  may  have 
received  by  the  same  mail  from  India  a  few  hours  later 
than  the  official  return,  a  letter  communicating  the 
death  of  Captain  James  from  cholera  or  some  other 
casualty.  The  law  presumes  she  is  innocent  till  the 
usual  proof  of  guilt  is  brought  forward.  Here  that 
proof  is  wanting,  and  the  magistrate  is  requested  to 
act  on  a  presumption  of  guilt.  I  feel  great  reluctance 
in  doing  so,  even  to  the  extent  of  a  remand  without 
an  assurance  on  the  part  of  the  prosecutor  that  the 
evidence  necessary  to  ensure  a  conviction  will  certainly 
be  producible  on  a  future  occasion.  No  such  assurance 
can  be  given  in  this   case,  because  between  the  13th 

187 


Lola  Montez 

June  and  the  last  marriage,  a  period  of  nearly  six 
weeks,  Captain  James  may  have  been  snatched  from 
life  by  any  of  those  numerous  casualties  by  which 
life  is  beset  in  a  military  profession  and  a  tropical 
climate.  However,  upon  the  express  admission  of 
the  advocate  that  in  his  judgment  sufficient  ground 
has  been  laid  for  further  enquiry,  and  upon  his  offer 
to  find  security,  I  shall  venture  to  order  a  remand, 
and  to  liberate  the  prisoner,  upon  finding  two  sureties 
in  £500  each,  and  herself  £1,000,  for  her  reappearance 
here  on  a  future  day.' 

"  Bail  was  immediately  tendered  and  accepted. 
The  Countess  of  Landsfeld  and  her  husband  were 
allowed  to  remain  some  time  in  court  in  order  to  elude 
the  gaze  of  the  crowd." 

Her  counsel's  blunder  had  cost  Lola  and  her  husband 
two  thousand  pounds. 

The  prosecution  succeeded  in  ruining  the  beautiful 
woman  against  whom  it  was  directed.  A  spiteful  old 
lady  had  taken  advantage  of  a  bad  law.  The  whole 
proceedings  were  cruel  and  vindictive.  A  law  framed 
by  bigots  and  administered  by  idiots  condemned  a 
woman  to  lose  her  conjugal  rights  ;  and  when  she 
attempted  to  contract  new  ties  and  create  for  herself 
a  home,  it  threatened  her  with  the  punishment  of  a 
felon.  Decrees  like  that  of  Dr.  Lushington  impose  on 
women  the  alternatives  of  celibacy  and  prostitution. 
Lola,  who  was  too  human  for  the  one,  and  too  highly 
organised  for  the  other,  was  accordingly  bludgeoned,  de- 
famed, and  driven  out  of  society.  Somewhere  between 
this  world  and  Nirvana  there  should  be  a  flaming  hell 
for  the  makers  of  our  ancient  English  law;  though, 
perhaps,  we  should  seek  them  in  the  limbo  of  unbaptized 
innocents  and  idiots. 

188 


A  Second  Experiment  in  Matrimony 

Lola  did  not  share  the  magistrate's  belief  in  the 
probability  of  Captain  James  having  been  carried  off 
by  accident  or  fever.  On  the  contrary,  she  thought  it 
likely  that  Miss  Heald  would  succeed  in  producing  him 
in  court.  To  defeat  the  malice  of  her  enemies,  she  and 
Heald  took  their  departure  for  the  continent,  via  Folke- 
stone and  Boulogne,  the  day  after  her  appearance  at 
Marlborough  Street,  as  an  announcement  in  the  Morning 
Herald  testifies.  For  the  next  two  years  we  have  no 
reliable  information  as  to  the  movements  or  the  doings 
of  the  pair.  Certain  particulars  are  supplied  by 
Eugene  de  Mirecourt,  a  wholly  untrustworthy  writer, 
who  speaks  ill  of  everybody,  especially  of  Lola,  and 
is  again  and  again  to  be  convicted  of  palpable  and 
serious  errors.  According  to  his  version, ^  the  newly 
married  couple  proceeded  in  the  first  instance  to  Spain, 
where  two  children  were  bom  to  them.  Here  Monsieur 
de  Mirecourt  makes  the  first  heavy  draft  on  our  credulity, 
for  we  can  find  elsewhere  no  trace  of  or  allusion  to  the 
existence  of  any  children  of  Lola  Montez,  who  could 
have  had  no  possible  interest  in  abandoning  or  repudi- 
ating them,  since  they  would  have  constituted  a  power- 
ful claim  on  her  wealthy  young  husband  and  his  affluent 
relatives.  Despite  these  pledges  of  affection,  we  are 
told,  the  domestic  life  of  the  Healds  was  troubled  by 
violent  quarrels.  At  Barcelona,  in  an  access  of  fury, 
Lola  stabbed  her  husband  with  a  stiletto.  The  wounded 
man  took  to  flight,  but,  unable  to  stifle  his  love  for  his 
wife,  returned  to  her  with  assurances  of  renewed  affec- 
tion. However,  he  soon  found  reason  to  regret  this 
step,  and  at  Madrid  again  deserted  the  conjugal  roof. 

^  Les  Contemporains,  Paris,   1857.     No  sources  of  information  are 
indicated.     De  Mirecourt's  real  name  was  Jacquot. 

189 


Lola  Montez 

Lola  advertised  for  him  as  for  a  lost  dog,  and  rewarded 
the  person  who  found  and  restored  him  to  her.  Here 
Monsieur  de  Mirecourt's  effervescent  Gallic  humour 
seems  to  have  betrayed  him  into  what  is  at  least 
unplausible. 

"  Paris,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  had  next  the  honour 
of  sheltering  this  extraordinary  couple.  Madame  sate 
for  her  portrait  to  Claudius  Jacquand,  but  was  obliged 
to  interrupt  the  sitting  every  day  on  word  being 
brought  that  her  husband  was  about  to  take  to  flight. 
On  one  occasion  she  was  obliged  to  pursue  him  as  far 
as  Boulogne.  Claudius  Jacquand  painted  them  both 
together  [this  rather  conflicts  with  the  sense  of  the 
foregoing  sentences],  the  husband  presenting  his  wife 
with  a  rich  parure  of  diamonds.  When  a  definite 
rupture  of  their  relations  was  decided  upon,  Heald 
wished  the  canvas  to  be  cut  in  two,  as  he  objected  to 
appearing  beside  Lola.  She,  however,  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  picture  in  its  entirety,  and  kept  it  in  her 
room,  with  its  face  turned  to  the  wall.  '  My  husband,' 
she  explained,  '  ought  not  to  see  everything  I  do.  It 
wouldn't  be  decent.' 

"  The  husband,  upon  his  return  to  London,  obtained 
a  decree  of  nullity  of  marriage,  and  the  year  following 
was  drowned  at  Lisbon,  the  swell  of  a  passing  steamer 
swamping  the  skiff  in  which  he  was  taking  his  pleasure." 

Our  delightfully  unreliable  informant  adds  that 
Captain  James  died  in  1852,  whereas  he  lived  to  witness 
the  Franco-German  war.  De  Mirecourt  aimed  rather 
at  being  funny  than  accurate,  and  succeeded  in  being 
neither  one  nor  the  other.  In  substance  his  carefully- 
seasoned  story  is  true.  Lola  herself  refers  to  her 
marriage  with  Heald  as  another  unfortunate  experience 
in  matrimony.     There  was,  no  doubt,  a  fundamental 

190 


A  Second  Experiment  in  Matrimony 

difference  in  their  temperaments,  and  the  vagrant  Hfe 
in  France  and  Spain  must  have  brought  out  only  too 
well  the  wife's  capacity  for  adventure,  as  much  as  it 
must  have  bored  and  irritated  the  well-connected  young 
Englishman.  In  London  they  might  have  pulled 
together  very  well.  He  would  have  had  his  club  and 
his  race-meetings ;  she  would  have  had  her  well- 
appointed  household,  her  salon,  and  her  box  at  the 
Opera.  Miss  Susanna  Heald's  interference  destroyed 
Lola's  dream  of  an  established  position,  and  wrecked 
two  lives. 


191 


XXVIII 

WESTWARD  HO   ! 

In  the  year   1851,  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld  might 
well  have  reflected,  with  Byron — 

"  Through  Life's  dull  road,  so  dim  and  dirty, 
I  have  dragged  to  three-and-thirty. 
What  have  these  years  left  to  me  ? 
Nothing — except  thirty-three." 

She  had  practically  exhausted  the  possibilities  of  the 
old  world.  In  Paris  she  met  with  an  American  agent, 
named  Edward  Willis,  who  made  her  an  offer  (in  theatri- 
cal parlance)  for  New  York.  Such  a  proposal  appealed 
at  once  to  this  restless  woman,  in  whom  no  series  of 
misfortunes  could  extinguish  the  thirst  for  novelty  and 
adventure.  Other  and  more  distinguished  exiles  who 
had  been  worsted  in  the  fight  with  Europe's  archaic 
traditions  were  also  turning  their  faces  westward. 
The  Humholdt,  in  which  Lola  sailed  from  Southampton 
on  20th  November  185 1,  bore,  as  its  most  illustrious 
passenger,  the  patriot  Kossuth.  Of  this  great  Magyar 
our  adventuress  saw  little,  for  he  was  confined  to  his 
cabin  during  the  greater  part  of  the  voyage  with  sea- 

193 


Lola  Montez 

sickness  ;  what  she  did  see  she  seems  to  have  liked 
httle.  She  thought  him  (so  she  told  the  reporter  of 
the  New  York  Tribune)  sinister  and  distant.  She,  on 
an  element  with  which  she  had  been  familiar  since 
childhood,  was  brilliant  and  sprightly. 

The  Humboldt  arrived  at  New  York  on  Friday,  5th 
December  185 1,  amd  was  received  with  a  salute  of 
thirty-one  guns — in  honour,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  of 
Kossuth,  not  of  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld.  She 
was  not  altogether  overlooked  in  the  transports  of 
enthusiasm  and  public  rejoicings  with  which  the 
American  people  hailed  the  exiled  hero.  She  was 
promptly  interviewed  by  the  newspaper  men,  who  were 
surprised  to  find  that  she  was  not  a  masculine  woman, 
but  rather  slim  in  her  stature. 

"  She  has,"  continues  the  report,  "  a  face  of  great 
beauty,  and  a  pair  of  black  [sic]  Spanish  eyes,  which 
flash  fire  when  she  is  speaking,  and  make  her,  with 
the  sparkling  wit  of  her  conversation,  a  great  favourite 
in  company.  She  has  black  hair,  which  curls  in  ring- 
lets by  the  sides  of  her  face,  and  her  nose  is  of  a  pure 
Grecian  cast,  while  her  cheek  bones  are  high,  and  give 
a  Moorish  appearance  to  her  face. 

"  She  states  that  many  bad  things  have  been  said 
of  her  by  the  American  Press,  yet  she  is  not  the  woman 
she  has  been  represented  to  be  :  if  she  were,  her 
admirers,  she  believes,  would  be  still  more  numerous. 
She  expresses  herself  fearful  that  she  will  not  be  properly 
considered  in  New  York,  but  hopes  that  a  discriminating 
public  will  judge  of  her  after  having  seen  her,  and  not 
before."! 

New  York  and  its  people  in  the  middle  of  the  last 

^  New  York  Tribune,  6th  December  1851. 
194 


LOLA    MONTEZ. 
(  After  Jules  Laura.  ) 


Westward  Ho ! 

century  have  been  portrayed  unkindly,  but  I  do  not 
think  unfairly,  by  Charles  Dickens.  That  great  novelist 
visited  the  country  for  the  first  time  only  seven  years 
before  Lola  landed,  and  his  impressions  are  largely 
embodied  in  "  Martin  Chuzzlewit."  With  the  type  of 
American  delineated  therein,  it  is  evident  that  the 
Countess  of  Landsfeld  knew  exactly  how  to  deal.  She 
succeeded  at  once  in  disarming  an  intensely  puritanical 
people  by  enthusiastic  appeals  to  their  childlike  national 
vanity,  by  delighted  acquiescence  in  their  laughable 
self -righteousness.  Colonel  Diver  and  General  Choke 
cauld  with  difficulty  have  bettered  her  allusion  to  their 
Great  Country  as  "  this  stupendous  asylum  of  the 
world's  unfortunates,  and  last  refuge  of  the  victims  of 
the  tyranny  and  wrongs  of  the  Old  World  !  God 
grant,"  devoutly  prays  the  Countess,  "  that  it  may 
ever  stand  as  it  is  now,  the  noblest  column  of  liberty 
that  was  ever  reared  beneath  the  arch  of  heaven  !  " 
At  the  conclusion  of  her  autobiography  the  American 
people  are  told  that  the  pilgrim  from  the  effete  forms  of 
Europe  must  look  upon  their  great  Republic  with  as 
happy  an  eye  as  the  storm-tossed  and  shipwrecked 
mariner  looks  upon  the  first  star  that  shines  beneath 
the  receding  tempest.  These  words,  indeed,  are  Mr. 
Chauncy  Burr's,  but  the  sentiments  beyond  doubt  are 
those  that  Lola  constantly  affected.  Her  mastery  over 
men,  as  is  always  the  case,  was  due  not  so  much  to  her 
physical  charms  as  to  her  skill  in  detecting  their  weakest 
sides.  It  says  much  for  her  shrewdness  that  she  who 
had  hitherto  found  it  safest  to  appeal  to  men  through 
their  passions,  perceived  that  the  cold  Yankee  was 
most  vulnerable  through  so  artificial  and  dispassionate 
a  sentiment  as  patriotism.     Every  other  woman  of  her 

195 


Lola  Montez 

experience  would  have  assumed  that  the  animal  pre- 
dominated in  all  men,  of  whatever  race  or  country. 

No  amount  of  judicious  flattery  could,  however, 
blind  the  Great  and  Critical  American  Public  to  the 
fair  stranger's  imperfections  as  an  actress  and  a  dancer. 
On  27th  December  she  appeared  in  the  title  role  of 
Bdly,  the  Tyrolean,  a  musical  comedy  MTitten  especially 
for  her,  at  the  Broadway  Theatre.  It  was  expected 
that  she  would  prove  a  powerful  attraction,  and  seats 
for  the  first  performance  were  put  up  to  public  auction 
on  the  preceding  Saturday.  But  the  piece  was  with- 
drawn on  19th  January  1852,  public  curiosity  having 
by  then  been  satisfied,  and  what  taste  there  was  in 
New  York  not  much  gratified.  Lola,  however,  secured 
an  engagement  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  at  Phila- 
delphia, that  dull,  colourless  city,  which  formed  the 
most  incongruous  of  all  possible  settings  for  her  person- 
ality. In  May,  when  a  faint  breath  of  romance  seems 
to  rustle  the  trees  even  in  Union  Square,  she  went  back 
to  New  York.  On  the  i8th  she  appeared  again  at 
the  Broadway  Theatre  in  a  dramatised  version  of  her 
career  in  Munich,  written  by  C.  P.  T.  Ware.  She 
appeared  as  herself,  in  the  characters  of  the  Danseuse, 
the  Politician,  the  Countess,  the  Revolutionist,  and  the 
Fugitive.  The  part  of  King  Louis  was  sustained  by 
Mr.  Barry,  and  Abel — the  villain  of  the  piece — by 
F.  Conway.  The  play  ran  five  nights  only.  Even  during 
these  brief  runs,  and  though  the  prices  at  New  York 
theatres  did  not  exceed  a  dollar  in  those  days,  Lola 
had  amassed  a  considerable  sum  of  money  ;  but  she 
was  by  nature  prodigal,  and  easily  outpaced  the  swiftest 
current  of  Pactolus.  She  now  hit  on  a  somewhat 
original  scheme,  which  quickly  replenished  her  exchequer. 

196 


Westward  Ho  ! 

She  organised  receptions,  to  which  any  one  paying 
a  dollar  was  admitted  for  the  space  of  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  to  shake  her  by  the  hand,  gaze  upon  her 
in  all  the  splendour  of  her  beauty,  and  converse  with 
her  in  English,  French,  German,  or  Spanish.  The 
function  was  hardly  consistent  with  the  Countess's 
dignity,  but  it  revealed  in  a  striking  manner  her  know- 
ledge of  the  American  character.  To  shake  hands 
with  a  well-known  personage  is  esteemed  by  your 
average  Yankee  a  greater  privilege  than  visiting  the 
Acropolis  or  wading  in  the  Jordan. 

From  New  York  Lola  proceeded  to  New  Orleans, 
that  queer  old  city  of  Creoles  and  canals. 

"  A  Canadian  named  Jones,"  relates  De  Mirecourt, 
"  acted  as  her  agent,  and  as  there  was  reason  to  fear 
that  in  this  deeply  religious  state,  her  scandalous 
history  might  dispose  the  public  against  her,  the  fol- 
lowing plan  was  devised. 

"  It  was  reported  in  the  Louisiana  journals  that  the 
Countess  of  Landsfeld,  who  had  recently  arrived  in 
America,  was  distributing  alms  in  abundance  to  the 
poor,  the  sick,  and  the  captive,  to  make  amends  for 
her  misspent  life. 

"  This  announcement  having  taken  some  effect,  the 
newspapers  went  on  to  inform  the  public  that  the 
famous  Countess  was  shortly  about  to  enter  religion  ; 
the  best  informed  went  so  far  as  to  name  the  day  on 
which  she  would  take  the  veil. 

"  But  on  the  appointed  day,  behold  a  third  and 
startling  item  of  news  ! 

"  Sefiora  Lola  Montez,  yielding  to  that  instinct  of 
inconstancy  so  strong  in  her  sex,  is  announced  to  have 
chosen  the  Opera  instead  of  the  Cloister. 

"  That  evening  the  theatre  was  crowded  to  suffoca- 
tion, and  the  following  days  the  receipts  were  enormous." 

197 


Lola  Montez 

De  Mirecourt,  who  pronounced  young  Heald's  desire 
to  marry  Lola  in  due  and  proper  form,  idee  d' Anglais, 
must  be  allowed  his  sneer.  We  who  know  in  what 
spirit  the  adventuress  ended  her  career,  and  to  what 
strange  impulses  she  was  subject,  may  hesitate  to 
dismiss  her  momentary  attraction  to  the  cloister  as  a 
mere  advertising  manoeuvre.  The  woman  was  dis- 
illusioned, sore  at  heart,  and  world-weary  ;  her  restless- 
ness bespeaks  a  mind  ill  at  ease  ;  her  beauty  showed 
signs  of  fading,  she  had  no  home,  no  ties,  no  kindred. 
It  is  likely  that  for  a  moment  her  resolve  to  end  her 
days  in  the  supposed  tranquillity  of  the  convent  was 
genuine  enough.  It  passed  ;  as  yet  the  joy  of  living 
was  too  strong  in  her  to  be  crushed  down. 


198 


XXIX 

IN   THE    TRAIL   OF   THE    ARGONAUTS 

The  Creole  City  at  that  time  swarmed  with  gold- 
seekers  on  their  way  to  or  returning  from  the  newly- 
found  Ophir  of  the  Occident.  Though  the  first  headlong 
rush  to  California  was  over,  it  still  drew  its  thousands 
every  month,  and  Greeley's  famous  advice  to  the 
young  man  was  followed  without  having  been  asked. 
Lola  became  infected  with  the  fever.  There  was  much 
of  the  gambler  in  her  nature,  and  her  zest  for  adventure 
was  keener  than  of  old.  At  this  time,  too,  a  positive 
distaste  for  civilisation  appears  to  have  possessed  her. 
It  may  have  been  the  vision  of  a  wild,  unfettered  life 
in  a  virgin  land  that  dispelled  the  sickly  hankerings 
for  the  cloister. 

She  sailed  across  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  San  Juan 
del  Norte,  or  Greytown,  as  it  is  now  called,  the  newly 
opened  halfway-house  to  the  gold-fields.  Thence  the 
route  lay  across  the  beautiful  savannahs  of  Nicaragua 
to  the  Pacific  shore.  She  passed  the  white-walled 
towns  of  Leon  and  Rivas,  which  Walker  and  his  fili- 
busters two  years  later  harried  with  fire  and  sword. 
This  was  an  alternative  route  to  that  across  the  isthmus 
of  Panama,  which  she  was  fabled  to  have  followed  in  a 
book   by    Russell,    the   war-correspondent,    called    the 

199 


Lola  Montez 

"  Adventures  of  Mrs.  Seacole,"  Lola  refers  to  this 
mendacious  romance  in  her  little  autobiography,  and 
quotes  the  following  passage  in  order  to  characterise 
it  at  the  finish  as  a  base  fabrication  from  beginning  to 
end  : — 

"  Occasionally  some  distinguished  passengers  passed 
on  the  upward  and  downward  tides  of  ruffianism  and 
rascality  that  swept  periodically  through  Cruces. 
Came  one  day  Lola  Montez,  in  the  full  zenith  of  her 
evil  fame,  bound  for  California  with  a  strange  suite. 
A  good-looking,  bold  woman,  with  fine,  bad  eyes  and 
a  determined  bearing,  dressed  ostentatiously  in  perfect 
male  attire,  with  shirt  collar  turned  down  over  a  velvet 
lapelled  coat,  richly  worked  shirt-front,  black  hat, 
French  unmentionables,  and  natty  polished  boots  with 
spurs.  She  carried  in  her  hand  a  handsome  riding- 
whip,  which  she  could  use  as  well  in  the  streets  of 
Cruces  as  in  the  towns  of  Europe  ;  for  an  impertinent 
American,  presuming,  perhaps  not  unnaturally,  upon 
her  reputation,  laid  hold  jestingly  of  the  tails  of  her 
long  coat,  and,  as  a  lesson,  received  a  cut  across  his 
face  that  must  have  marked  him  for  some  days.  I  did 
not  see  the  row  which  followed,  and  was  glad  when 
the  wretched  woman  rode  off  on  the  following  morning." 

The  incident  is  a  spicy  little  bit  of  fiction,  such  as 
is  so  easily  invented  by  the  fertile  journalistic  brain. 
The  adjectives  applied  to  Lola  also  illustrate,  in  a 
mildly  diverting  manner,  the  strictly  orthodox  notions 
of  morality  entertained  by  the  newspaper  press,  and 
the  pontifical  confidence  with  which  journalists  pro- 
nounce on  questions  of  conduct.  ^ 

^  By  way  of  digression  I  cannot  refrain  from  instancing  the  absurd 
practice  obtaining  in  some  newspapers  of  printing  the  title  Mrs., 
when  appUed  to  a  woman  not  legally  married,  in  inverted  commas, 
in  spite  of  the  dictum  of  English  law  which  says  that  any  one  can  call 
themselves  by  any  description  they  please. 

200 


In  the  Trail  of  the  Argonauts 

On  the  long  journey  to  the  golden  gate,  Lola  had  as 
a  fellow-passenger  a  young  man  named  Patrick  Purdy 
Hull,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  editor  of  the  San  Francisco 
Whig.  The  acquaintance  thus  formed  soon  ripened 
into  an  attachment.  Though,  upon  her  arrival  in 
California,  the  Countess  immediately  went  on  tour 
among  the  mining  camps,  her  new  victim  did  not  lose 
sight  of  her.  For  the  third  time  Lola  went  through 
the  ceremony  of  wedlock.  On  ist  July  1853  she  married 
Hull  at  the  Church  of  the  Mission  Dolores,  "  in  presence," 
runs  the  report,  "  of  a  select  party,  among  w^hom  were 
Beverly  C.  Saunders,  Esq.,  Judge  Wills,  James  E. 
Wainwright,  Esq.,  A.  Bartol,  Esq.,  Louis  R.  Lull,  S. 
A.  Brinsmade,  and  other  prominent  citizens " — all 
among  the  most  remarkable  men  in  that  country,  no 
doubt.  "  The  bride  and  groom  have  since  visited 
Sacramento,  and  are  now  in  domestic  retirement  at 
San  Francisco."  ^ 

From  the  reports  of  remarkable  men  and  prominent 
citizens  shooting  each  other  in  the  public  streets,  of 
bandits  raiding  the  suburbs,  of  fires  and  floods,  that 
accompany  this  announcement,  we  should  imagine 
that  domestic  retirement  in  San  Francisco  was  at  that 
time  subject  to  frequent  and  unpleasant  interruption. 
On  this  account,  perhaps,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hull  spent 
much  of  their  time  hunting  in  the  valley  of  the  Sacra- 
mento. Lola  was  in  search  of  new  sensations,  and  for 
the  moment  the  bear  seemed  a  more  attractive  quarry 
than  the  man.  But  before  long  a  German  medical 
man,  named  Adler,  himself  a  mighty  hunter,  came 
across  her  path.  His  prowess  excited  her  admiration, 
and  he  at  once  fell  a   victim  to  the  shafts  from  her 

New  York  Tribune,  loth  August  1853. 
201 


Lola  Montez 

quiver.  Hull  was  discarded  and  the  German  reigned 
in  his  stead. 

In  these  American  amours  we  seem  to  defect  the  last 
flickerings  of  the  flame  of  passion — the  woman's  last 
strenuous  efforts  to  find  a  real  and  lasting  interest  in 
life.  But  Lola  had  played  too  much  with  love.  That 
mighty  force  which  she  had  so  often  exploited  and 
exerted  to  the  furtherance  of  her  ambitions  was  no 
longer  at  her  command.  Her  capacity  for  love  was 
exhausted  ;  by  passion  she  was  no  more  to  rule  or  to 
be  ruled. 

She  had  hardly  time  to  tire  of  her  German  lover, 
who  accidentally  shot  himself  while  following  the  chase 
— no  bad  death  for  a  hunter.  It  might  have  been 
expected  that  Lola  would  now  quit  California  and 
return  to  more  congruous  surroundings.  But  a  distaste 
for  men  and  cities,  for  the  restraints  of  civilisation, 
had  grown  strong  within  her.  Just  then  she  was  sick 
of  love  and  sick  of  the  world.  At  her  best,  a  splendid 
animal,  with  fierce  elemental  passions,  she  turned 
almost  instinctively,  to  draw  fresh  supplies  of  vitality 
from  "  the  green,  sweet-hearted  earth."  She  made 
herself  a  home  in  a  cabin  at  Grass  Valley,  a  lawless 
mining  camp,  among  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
All  her  life  she  had  loved  animals,  and  these  she  now 
made  her  special  friends  and  companions,  finding  in 
their  marvellous  stores  of  affection  and  devotion  ample 
compensation  for  the  muddy  evanescent  emotion  that 
men  call  love.  She  did  not,  of  course,  lead  the  life  of 
a  hermit.  We  catch  glimpses  of  her  in  a  despatch  from 
Nevada  City,  dated  20th  January  1854  : — 

"  The  merry  ringing  of  sleigh  bells  has  been  heard 

202 


In  the  Trail  of  the  Argonauts 

for  several  days  past  in  our  city.  Several  sleighs  have 
been  fitted  up,  and  the  young  gentlemen  have  treated 
the  ladies  to  some  dashing  turn-outs.  On  Tuesday 
last,  Lola  Montez  paid  us  a  visit  by  this  conveyance 
and  a  span  of  horses,  decorated  with  impromptu  cow- 
bells. She  flashed  like  a  meteor  through  the  snow- 
flakes  and  wanton  snowballs,  and  after  a  tour  of  the 
thoroughfares,  disappeared  in  the  direction  of  Grass 
Valley." 

There  she  continued  to  dwell  during  the  rest  of  that 
year,  her  liking  for  the  simple  life  unabated.  A  corre- 
spondent of  the  San  Francisco  Herald,  who  visited  her 
on  13th  December,  describes  her  as — 

"  living  a  quiet,  and  apparently  cosy  life,  surrounded 
by  her  pet  birds,  dogs,  goats,  sheep,  hens,  turkeys,  pigs, 
and  her  pony.  The  latter  seems  to  be  a  favourite  with 
Lola,  and  is  her  companion  in  all  her  mountain  rambles. 
Surely  it  is  a  strange  metamorphosis  to  find  the  woman 
who  has  gained  a  world-renowned  notoriety,  and  has 
played  a  part  upon  the  stage  of  life  with  powerful 
potentates,  and  with  whose  name  Europe  and  the  world 
is  familiar,  finally  settled  down  at  home  in  the  mountain 
wilds  of  California." 

A  strange  change,  indeed,  but  no  unpleasant  life  it 
could  have  been.  What  memories,  what  scenes,  must 
have  supplied  food  for  the  lonely  woman's  musings,  as 
she  galloped  over  the  hills,  or,  seated  with  her  dogs, 
gazed  into  her  great  fire  of  resinous  logs  !  In  communion 
thus  with  our  great  mother,  treading  these  virgin  forests, 
and  breathing  an  air  hardly  yet  inhaled  by  man,  she 
might  have  attained  to  a  higher,  truer  plane  of  existence 
than  that  which  she  finally  took  to  be  firm  ground. 
But  luck  was  against  her  here,  as  always.     A  fire  swept 

203 


Lola  Montez 

away  the  township  of  Grass  Valley,  and  with  it  Lola's 
little  homestead — the  only  home  that  she  had  ever 
known.  Her  animals  were  dispersed,  she  was  without 
funds.  But  she  had  renewed  her  stock  of  vitality  at 
Nature's  fountains.  She  went  on  her  travels  again, 
reinvigorated  :  a  coarser  woman,  no  doubt,  thanks  to 
her  contact  with  miners  and  hunters,  but,  perhaps,  a 
better  one.  She  still  loved  the  new  auriferous  lands. 
In  the  track  of  the  sun  she  would  continue  to  journey, 
and  in  June  sailed  from  California  across  the  ocean  to 
Australia. 


204 


XXX 


IN  AUSTRALIA 


Even  to  the  antipodes — in  the  'fifties  unconnected  by 
the  telegraph  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  distant  a 
three  months'  journey  from  England — the  fame  of  the 
Countess  of  Landsfeld  had  extended.  Her  name  had 
travelled  completely  round  the  world,  and  was  as 
familiar  to  the  people  of  Sydney  as  to  those  of  London 
and  Paris.  Lola  found  that  her  prolonged  rest  cure 
had  weakened  in  no  way  her  hold  on  public  curiosity. 
The  moment  for  her  arrival  in  New  South  Wales  was 
not,  however,  well  chosen.  Commerce  and  agriculture 
were  alike  depressed,  and  the  mind  of  the  Colonists 
was  preoccupied  with  the  business  of  constitution- 
making.  The  city  lay,  too,  under  the  spell  of  a  cele- 
brated Irish  singer,  Miss  Catherine  Hayes,  "  the  sweet 
swan  of  Erin."  It  is,  perhaps,  worth  noting  that  this 
vocalist  was  born  at  the  same  town  as  Lola,  was  married 
at  the  same  church  (St.  George's,  Hanover  Square), 
and  was  to  die  the  same  year  ;  that  she  made  her  dShut 
under  the  same  manager  (Benjamin  Lumley),  at  the 
same  theatre,  and  that  the  two  women  had  for  the  last 
year  or  two  trodden  undeviatingly  in  each  other's 
footsteps.  Miss  Hayes  had  been  in  possession  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre  nearly  a  fortnight,  when 

205 


Lola  Montez 

Lola's  arrival  startled  the  eldest  Australian  city.  The 
newcomer  was  engaged  by  Tonning  of  the  Victoria 
Theatre,  and  was  announced  to  appear,  together  with 
Mr.  Lambert,  Mr.  Falland,  and  Mr.  C.  Jones,  on  23rd 
August  1855,  in  the  four-act  drama,  Lola  Montez  in 
Bavaria.     The  theatre  was  crowded  to  excess. 

"  The  Countess  looked  charming,  and  acted  very 
archly.  She  was  cheered  vociferously,  and  recalled 
before  the  curtain,  when  she  delivered  a  short  address. 
Mr.  Lambert  (well  known  in  London)  created  quite  a 
sensation  in  the  King  of  Bavaria  (by  which  name  he 
is  now  known),  and  at  the  end  of  the  performance  the 
Countess  presented  him  with  a  handsome  bundle  of 
cigarettes — a  very  great  compliment,  as  she  is  an 
inveterate  smoker,  and  seldom  gives  any  cigars  away. 

"  The  excitement  about  her  immediately  empties 
the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre,  and  Miss  Hayes  is  then 
taken  suddenly  ill.  Two  nights  after  the  Countess  of 
Landsfeld  is  seriously  indisposed,  and  Miss  Hayes 
recovers.  Her  recovery  restores  Lola  Montez  to  perfect 
health."  1 

On  27th  August  she  appeared  in  Yelva,  or  the  Orphan 
of  Russia,  "  a  new  and  exciting  drama  "  she  had  herself 
translated  from  the  French.  On  Wednesday,  6th 
September,  she  took  a  benefit,  playing  in  The  Follies 
of  a  Night,  and  two  farces.  Into  one  of  these  she 
introduced  her  "  Spider  Dance,"  which  seems  to  have 
outraged  colonial  opinion.  We  need  not  condemn  it  on 
that  account  as  immodest,  for  in  our  own  day  we  have 
seen  a  performance  interdicted  as  offensive  to  public 
morals  in  Manchester,  and  pronounced  (rightly)  to  be 
the  quintessence  of  mobile  grace  and  the  truest  poetry 

Era,  6th  January  1856. 
206 


In  Australia 

of  motion  in  the  not  less  considerable  city  of  London. 
Immodesty  in  the  minds  of  many  people  definitely 
connotes  that  which  pleases  the  eyes  and  the  senses. 

Business  continued  dull  at  Sydney,  and  Lola  departed 
in  the  second  week  of  September  for  Melbourne.  A 
dispute  had  arisen  between  her  and  another  member 
of  her  company,  Mrs.  Fiddes,  who  issued  a  writ  of 
attachment  against  her.  Brown,  the  sheriff,  went 
aboard  the  steamer  to  apprehend  Lola,  who  retired  to 
her  cabin  till  the  vessel  was  well  under  weigh.  She 
then  sent  word  that  the  officer  could  arrest  her  if  he 
would,  but  she  was  obliged  to  tell  him  that  she  was 
quite  naked.  The  bold  expedient  was,  of  course, 
successful.  "  Poor  Brown,"  we  are  told,  "  blushed 
and  retired,  and  was  put  on  shore  at  the  Heads,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Sydney,  and  was  greeted  on  his 
return  to  the  city  with  roars  of  laughter."  The  sheriff 
evidently  did  not  object  to  repeating  a  good  story,  even 
at  his  own  expense. 

At  Melbourne,  Lola  must  have  been  vividly  reminded 
of  California.  The  gold  fever  was  at  its  height.  The 
population  of  the  Port  Philip  district  had  swollen  in 
five  years  from  76,000  to  364,000,  of  which  number  at 
least  two-thirds  were  men.  Men,  too,  they  were,  of 
every  nationality  under  the  sun,  and  of  every  class, 
though  the  more  criminal  and  dangerous  elements  were 
in  the  ascendant.  In  '55  life  and  property  were,  not- 
withstanding, somewhat  more  secure  here  than  in 
California,  thanks  to  the  firmer,  less  corrupt  adminis- 
tration of  British  officials.  Prices  were,  it  need  not  be 
said,  extravagantly  high,  though  the  barest  necessities 
of  decent  life  were  hardly  obtainable  outside  Melbourne 
and  Gedong.     A  goldfield  would  seem  to  be  one  of 

207 


Lola  Montez 

the  most  brutalising  environments  to  which  a  human 
being  can  adapt  himself. 

For  our  knowledge  of  Lola's  doings  in  the  Victorian 
capital,  we  are  indebted  to  the  Era's  local  correspondent. 
He  writes  : — 

"  Lola  Montez  made  her  debut  on  21st  September, 
in  a  short  drama  allusive  to  her  own  Bavarian  trans- 
actions, but  the  piece  might  well  have  borne  curtailment. 
There  was  a  very  crowded  audience.  The  ci-devant 
Countess  of  Landsfeld  seemed  determined  to  preserve 
her  notoriety  intact  by  the  selection,  but  entrenched 
so  far  upon  decorum  in  the  '  Spider  Dance  '  on  a  sub- 
sequent evening,  that  she  did  not  face  the  clamour 
raised  in  consequence  till  the  objectionable  portions 
were  agreed  to  be  omitted.  She  is  certainly  a  very 
singular  character,  but  there  is  an  ever  lively  and  brusque 
style  in  her  action  that  seems  to  catch  general  appro- 
bation for  the  time  being. 

"  After  a  brief  stay,  Lola  departed  for  Geelong  ;  but 
there,  I  learn,  her  performances  were  freely  condemned. 
Indeed,  their  laxness  was  also  much  canvassed  with  us, 
and  the  more  staid  of  the  visitors  openly  enough  ex- 
pressed their  censure.  Subsequently  to  the  perform- 
ance. Dr.  Milman  demanded  of  the  Mayor  at  the  City 
Court,  in  the  name  of  an  outraged  community,  that 
a  warrant  be  issued  against  all  repetition  of  the  perfor- 
mances of  Mme,  Lola  Montez  at  the  Theatre  Royal. 
The  Mayor  referred  the  matter  to  the  private  room  of 
the  magistrates,  considering  that  should  be  the  proper 
place  for  its  discussion.  The  bench  declared  that  the 
law  would  not  sustain  them  in  issuing  a  warrant  unless 
the  Doctor  had  actually  witnessed  the  performance, 
and  had  his  information  properly  attested  by  witnesses. 
This  he  declared  he  would  do." 

The  methods  of  these  self-constituted  champions  of 

208 


In  Australia 

outraged  morality  are  the  same  in  every  age.  They 
condemn  first,  and  collect  evidence  afterwards — if 
at  all. 

Opinion  in  Geelong  does  not  seem  to  have  been  as 
hostile  as  the  Era's  correspondent  supposed.  In  the 
Geelong  Advertiser  of  loth  October  is  to  be  found  the 
following  paragraph  : — 

Illness   of    Lola    Montez 

"  Owing  to  severe  indisposition,  this  talented  actress 
is  unable  to  appear  before  a  Geelong  audience.  When 
competent  to  perform,  her  reappearance  will  be  duly 
notified.  Madame  is  suffering  from  severe  cold  and 
bronchitis,  and  is  now  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Thompson, 
of  Melbourne.  To  previous  indisposition  was  super- 
added a  severe  attack  induced  by  exposure  to  the 
thunderstorm  on  Saturday." 

Lola's  illness  was  of  a  passing  character.  That  it  in 
no  way  impaired  her  vigour  we  shall  presently  see. 
From  Melbourne  she  proceeded  to  the  goldfields, 
moving  among  the  most  desperate  characters  of  the 
two  hemispheres  undismayed  and  unafraid,  a  woman 
capable  of  defending  herself  with  whip  and  tongue.  A 
singular  character,  in  truth  was  hers,  thus  equally 
at  home  in  kings'  courts  and  miners'  camps,  able  to 
parry  and  to  counterplot  against  the  schemes  and 
intrigues  of  Metternich,  able  to  subdue  and  to  tame 
the  half-savage  ex-convicts  and  desperadoes  of  the 
Australian  diggings. 

At  Ballaarat  occurred  the  celebrated  fracas  with 
Mr.  Seekamp.  This  man  was  the  editor  of  the  local 
newspaper  (the  Times),  and  upon  Lola's  arrival  in  the 

209 


Lola  Montez 

town,  he  published  an  article,  putting  the  worst  con- 
struction on  the  episodes  of  her  past  life,  and  reflecting 
in  uncomphmentary  terms  on  her  character.  He  was, 
no  doubt,  another  guardian  of  public  morality,  which 
in  mining  camps  is,  of  course,  a  very  delicate  growth, 
A  few  evenings  afterwards,  he  was  so  rash  as  to  call  at 
the  United  States  Hotel,  where  the  woman  he  had  tra- 
duced was  staying.  Being  informed  that  he  was  below, 
Lola  ran  downstairs  with  a  riding-whip,  and  laid  it 
across  his  back  with  right  good  will.  The  journalist 
also  held  a  whip,  with  which  he  defended  himself 
lustily.  Before  long  the  combatants  had  each  other 
literally  by  the  hair.  The  bystanders  interposed,  and 
the  two  were  separated,  but  not  before  life-preservers 
and  revolvers  had  been  produced.  It  seems  to  us  an 
unedifying  performance,  though  a  woman,  if  insulted, 
has  undoubtedly  the  right  to  chastise  her  offender 
physically,  if  she  is  able.  Such  was  the  view  taken  by 
the  miners  of  Ballaarat.  At  the  theatre  that  evening 
she  was  the  object  of  an  ovation,  which  she  acknowledged 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  performance. 

"  I  thank  you,"  she  said,  "  most  sincerely  for  your 
friendship.  I  regret  to  be  obliged  to  refer  again  to 
Mr.  Seekamp,  but  it  is  not  my  fault,  as  he  again  in 
this  morning's  paper  repeated  his  attack  upon  me. 
You  have  heard  of  the  scene  that  took  place  this  after- 
noon. Mr.  Seekamp  threatens  to  continue  his  charges 
against  my  character.  I  offered,  though  a  woman, 
to  meet  him  with  pistols  ;  but  the  coward  who  could 
beat  a  woman,  ran  from  a  woman.  He  says  he  will 
drive  me  off  the  diggings  ;  but  I  will  change  the  tables, 
and  make  Seekamp  ^^camp  (applause).  My  good 
friends,  again  I  thank  you."  ^ 

^  Mornuig  Herald,  yth  May,  1856. 
210 


In  Australia 

This  conduct  was  "  unladylike,"  no  doubt,  but 
courageous  ;     ungracious,   but   absolutely   necessary. 

Seekamp,  bruised  and  humiliated,  thirsted  for  revenge. 
We  find  him  publishing  a  story  of  his  conqueror's  defeat 
in  the  Ballaarat  Times.  The  authority  can  hardly  be 
regarded  as  unimpeachable,  but  with  amusing  simplicity 
it  has  been  accepted  as  such  by  all  who  have  written 
about  Lola.  According,  then,  to  the  ungallant  Mr. 
Seekamp,  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld  was  engaged  by 
a  manager,  named  Crosby — of  what  theatre  is  not 
stated.  At  "  treasury  "  the  actress  had  a  misundei- 
standing  with  this  gentleman,  and  flew  into  a  violent 
rage.  At  this  opportune  moment  a  relief  force  appeared 
in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Crosby,  armed  with  a  whip. 
With  this  she  chastised  Lola  so  severely  that  the  weapon 
broke.  The  antagonists  then  threw  themselves  upon 
each  other,  and  the  rest  (says  the  delicately-minded 
journalist)  may  be  imagined  rather  than  described. 
Mr.  Seekamp' s  recent  experience  should  indeed  have 
enabled  him  to  imagine  such  a  scene  without  difficulty  ; 
in  fact,  he  probably  imagined  this  one.  He  concludes  : 
"  At  last  this  terrible  virago  has  found,  not  her  master, 
but  her  mistress,  and  for  many  a  long  day  will  be 
incapable  of  performing  at  any  theatre." 

These  words  were  written,  possibly,  while  Lola  was 
on  her  way  to  Europe.  She  appears  to  have  quitted 
Australia  in  March  or  April  1856.  With  her  arrival  in 
France  in  August  that  year,  she  completed  her  trip 
round  the  world. 


211 


XXXI 


LOLA  AS  A  LECTURER 


We  have  no  knowledge  of  the  business  that  took  Lola 
once  more  to  France  on  this  occasion.  She  probably 
went  there  to  spend,  in  the  most  agreeable  way  possible, 
the  considerable  sums  she  had  amassed  in  her  Australian 
tour.  It  may  be  supposed  that  she  spent  some  time 
at  Paris,  renewing  the  acquaintance  of  her  old  friends. 
Dumas,  Mery,  De  Beauvoir,  were  all  living,  and  death 
had  made  few  gaps  in  her  circle  of  friends  during  the 
past  ten  years.  In  August,  Lola  followed  the  fashion- 
able crowd  to  the  southern  watering-places,  and  stayed 
at  St.  Jean  de  Luz,  within  easy  reach  of  the  imperial 
court  at  Biarritz.  Hence  she  addressed  this  extra- 
ordinary letter  to  the  Estafette  : — 

"  St.   Jean  de  Luz,   Hotel  du  Cygne, 
"  2nd  September,   1856. 

"  The  Belgian  newspapers,  and  some  French  ones, 
have  asserted  that  the  suicide  of  the  actor,  Mauclerc, 
who,  it  is  reported,  has  thrown  himself  from  the  summits 
of  the  Pic  du  Midi,  was  caused  by  domestic  troubles 
for  which  I  was  responsible.  This  is  a  calumny  which 
M.  Mauclerc  himself  will  be  ready  to  refute.  We 
separated  amicably,  it  is  true,  after  eight  days  of  married 
life,  but  urged  only  by  our  common  and  imperious  need 
of  personal  liberty.  It  is  probable  that  the  tragedy 
I  213 


Lola  Montez 

of  the  Pic  du  Midi  exists  only  in  the  imagination  of 
some  journahst  on  the  look-out  for  sensational  news. 
Trusting  to  your  sense  of  fairness  to  insert  this  explana- 
tion in  your  excellent   journal,   I   remain,  yours,   etc., 

Lola   Montez." 

This  letter  was  copied  by  La  Presse,  which  De  Girar- 
din  still  edited,  and  was  presently  noticed  by  the  person 
most  interested.     His  reply  was  duly  published  : — 

"  Bayonne,  gtli  September,  1856. 

"  Sir, — I  read  in  your  issue  of  the  7th.  inst.  a  letter 
from  Lola  Montez,  wherein  there  is  talk  of  a  suicide 
of  which  I  have  been  the  victim,  and  a  marriage  in 
which  I  have  been  principal  actor.  I  am  a  complete 
stranger  to  such  catastrophes.  I  have  never  had  the 
least  intention  of  throwing  myself  from  the  Pic  du 
Midi,  or  from  any  other  peak,  and  I  do  not  recollect 
having  had  the  advantage  of  marrying — even  for  eight 
days — the  celebrated  Countess  of  Landsfeld, — Yours, 
etc.,  Mauclerc."  ^ 

The  simplest  and  most  probable  explanation  of  this 
affair  is  to  set  it  down  as  a  hoax.  Bayonne  and  St. 
Jean  de  Luz  are  neighbouring  towns,  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  actor  had  (perhaps  unwittingly)  incurred  the 
anger  of  the  Countess,  who  devised  this  rather  elaborate 
means  of  revenge. 

Soon  after,  Lola  returned  to  the  United  States,  a 
country  for  which  she  had  conceived  a  strong  liking. 
She  considered  it  her  home,  says  the  Rev.  F.  L.  Hawks, 
and  had  a  sincere  admiration  for  its  institutions.  Lola 
was  by  nature  a  republican,  and  intimacy  with 
sovereigns  had  not  much  awakened  her  distaste  for  them. 

^  De  Mirecourt. 
214 


Lola  as  a  Lecturer 

"  To  Freedom  ever  true,  true,  true, 
All  his  long  life  was  Harlequin  !  " 

On  2nd  February  1857  we  find  her  fulfilling  a  week's 
engagement  at  the  Green  Street  Theatre  at  Albany, 
acting  in  The  Eton  Boy,  The  Follies  of  a  Night,  and 
Lola  in  Bavaria.  She  was  not  unknown  at  the  state 
capital,  having  appeared  there,  with  a  troupe  of  twelve 
dancers,  at  the  Museum,  in  May  1852.  On  the  present 
occasion  she  gave  another  proof  of  her  dare-devil 
courage,  by  crossing  the  Hudson  River  in  an  open  skiff 
among  the  floating  ice. 

"  She  got  over  in  safety,  but  part  of  her  wardrobe 
was  carried  down  stream.  By  going  to  Troy  she  could 
have  avoided  all  danger,  but  her  love  of  notoriety  led 
her  to  offer  a  hundred  dollars  to  be  carried  across 
here."  ^ 

This  recklessness  may  have  proceeded  from  that 
want  of  interest  in  life,  that  utter  sense  of  desolation, 
which  assailed  her  whenever  she  was  not  distracted 
by  travel  and  adventure.  A  lonely,  disenchanted 
woman,  without  any  ties  or  hold  on  life,  she  found 
herself  now  on  the  verge  of  forty.  Her  days  for  adven- 
ture had  passed.  At  times  she  must  have  sighed  for 
her  home  among  the  Californian  foothills.  Surely  it 
was  wise  and  dignified,  for  one  who  had  exhausted 
her  strength  and  vitality  in  the  struggles  of  an  artificial 
society,  to  throw  herself  on  the  placid  bosom  of  our 
common  mother  ?  There,  in  time,  she  would  have 
awakened  to  fuller  comprehension  of  man's  place  in 
the  universe,  and  have  learned  at  once  the  true  value 

1  Phelps,    "  Players  of  a  Century." 
215 


Lola  Montez 

of  all  her  past  actions,  and  the  futility  of  remorse. 
But  in  New  York  no  one  listened  for  the  whisperings 
of  Nature  ;  instead,  they  fancied  they  heard  voices 
from  some  other  world.  Women  who  have  lost  their 
hold  on  life  readily  give  ear  to  visionaries  :  having 
exhausted  the  joys  of  this  world,  they  wish  to  test 
those  of  another.  Lola  became  a  believer  in  spiritual- 
ism. The  imagined  touch  of  some  fatuous  phantom 
would  thrill  her  as  no  man's  had  power  to  do.  One 
day  she  announced  that  the  spirits  had  directed  her 
to  abandon  the  stage,  and  to  become  a  lecturer.  Appar- 
ently, however,  she  had  no  confidence  in  their  ability 
to  inspire  her  on  the  platform,  for  she  caused  her 
lectures  to  be  written  by  the  Rev.  C.  Chauncy  Burr.  At 
the  seances  she  seems  to  have  been  brought  into  touch 
(in  two  senses)  with  several  of  the  clergy  of  various 
Protestant  denominations.  Her  first  lecture  was 
delivered  at  a  place  of  worship  called  the  Hope  Chapel, 
720  Broadway,  New  York,  on  3rd  February  1858. 

"  Lola  Montez  at  Hope  Chapel  is  good,"  chuckles  a 
reporter.  "It  is  plain  that  the  scent  of  the  roses 
hangs  round  her  still.  We  have  heard  some  queer 
things  in  that  conventicle  in  our  time,  and  have  now 
and  then  assisted  at  an  entertainment  there  twice  as 
funny,  but  not  half  so  intellectual  nor  half  so  whole- 
some, as  the  lecture  our  desperado  in  dimity  gave  us 
last  night." 

The  New  York  pressman  was  more  easily  pleased 
than  is  the  modern  reader.  Lola's  lectures  were 
published  that  same  year  in  book  form,  together  with 
her  autobiography,  and  they  may  be  pronounced  very 
poor  stuff.     They  are  respectively  headed,  "  Beautiful 

216 


Lola  as  a  Lecturer 

Women."  "  GaUantry,"  "Heroines  of  History,"  "The 
Comic  Aspect  of  Love,"  "  Wits  and  Women  of 
Paris,"  and  "  Romanism."  Here  and  there  their 
dullness  is  enlivened  by  a  flash  of  Lola's  own  native 
wit,  or  a  shrewd  observation  that  only  her  experience 
could  have  supplied.  Sometimes  she  begins  by  what 
is  evidently  an  exposition  of  her  own  views,  winding 
up  with  some  trite  moralisings  calculated  to  appease 
her  audience.  Speaking,  for  instance,  of  the  heroines 
of  history,  she  dwells  with  enthusiasm  on  the  valour 
of  Margaret  of  Anjou,  the  sagacity  of  Isabel  the  Catholic, 
the  administrative  ability  of  Elizabeth,  the  diplomatic 
skill  of  Catharine  IL,  and  recollects  herself  in  time  to 
impress  on  her  hearers  that  one 

"  who  is  qualified  to  be  a  happy  wife  and  a  good  mother, 
need  never  look  with  envy  upon  the  woman  of  genius, 
whose  mental  powers,  by  fitting  her  for  the  stormy  arena 
of  politics,  may  have  unfitted  her  for  the  quiet  walks 
of  domestic  hfe." 

As  might  have  been  expected,  Lola  spoke  somewhat 
disdainfully  of  women  who  preferred  to  vote  rather 
than  to  cajole  the  men  who  voted.  The  lecturer 
forgot,  perhaps,  that  all  her  sisters  were  not  as  well 
equipped  as  she  for  the  business  of  fascination,  and 
that  to  some  of  them  the  personal  exercise  of  the 
franchise  might  seem  less  unwomanly  and  objectionable 
than  the  arts  of  blandishment  and  intimidation. 

Lola  was  bold  enough  to  tell  her  American  audience 
that  the  palm  of  beauty  must  be  awarded  to  English- 
women, and  that  the  Yankees  were  too  mercantile 
and  practical  to  entertain  the  old  spirit  of  gallantry. 
She  mollified  her  hearers  by  adding  that,  after  all,  in 

217 


Lola  Montez 

America,  "  love  dived  the  deepest  and  came  out  dryest  " 
— a  dark  saying,  from  which  she  derived  the  conclusion 
that  love  in  the  United  States  was  as  brave,  honest, 
and  sincere  a  passion  as  elsewhere.  The  lecture  on 
Romanism  will  not  be  regarded  as  a  very  formidable 
instrument  of  attack  upon  the  Catholic  Church.  It 
concludes  :  "  America  does  not  yet  recognise  how  much 
she  owes  to  the  Protestant  principle.  It  has  given 
the  world  the  four  greatest  facts  of  modern  times — 
steam-boats,  railroads,  telegraphs,  and  the  American 
Republic  !  " 

We  can  imagine  with  what  enthusiasm  this  sentiment 
was  received  in  Hope  Chapel,  where  the  lecture  was 
delivered  in  October  1858,  in  aid  of  a  fund  for  a  church 
which  should  be  open  free  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate 
(as,  by  the  way,  all  Roman  Catholic  churches  are). 
By  this  time  Lola  appears  to  have  been  weaned  of  her 
spiritualistic  heresies,  and  had  become  interested  in 
Methodism.  In  her  new  zeal  for  her  own  soul's  welfare 
she  did  not,  however,  forget  the  corporal  needs  of  her 
fellows,  and  with  native  generosity,  stimulated  by 
religious  considerations,  she  showered  the  money  earned 
at  her  lectures  upon  the  poor  and  afflicted.  To 
replenish  her  store,  and  encouraged  by  the  success  of 
her  new  enterprize  in  New  York,  she  resolved  to  try 
her  luck  once  more  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


218 


XXXII 

A  LAST  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND 

Lola  landed  from  the  American  steam-ship,  Pacific, 
at  Galway  on  23rd  November  1858.  She  had  not  set 
foot  in  her  native  land  since  she  left  it,  the  bride  of 
Thomas  James,  more  than  twenty  years  before.  In 
Dublin  she  had  last  appeared  as  a  debutante  at  the 
viceregal  court ;  now,  on  loth  December,  she  appeared 
there,  on  the  boards  of  the  Round  Room,  as  a  public 
curiosity,  as  a  woman  whose  fame  noc  one  among  her 
auditors  would  have  envied.  But  they  flocked  to  see 
her  in  hundreds,  and  the  opening  promised  a  highly 
profitable  tour.  In  her  regenerate  frame  of  mind  the 
lecturer  was  distressed  by  the  publication  in  the 
Freeman  of  a  long  article  referring  to  her  connection  with 
Dujarier  and  the  King  of  Bavaria.  Being  the  daughter 
of  an  Anglo-Indian  officer,  Lola  had  inherited  a  tendency 
to  write  to  the  papers  on  every  possible  occasion,  and 
she  at  once  sent  a  letter  to  the  journal,  defending  her 
character.  Her  relations  with  Dujarier  and  Louis 
were,  she  insisted,  absolutely  proper  and  regular  :  to 
the  former  she  was  engaged  ;  of  the  latter  she  was 
merely  the  friend  and  the  adviser.  The  aspersions  of 
her  fair  fame  she  attributed  to  the  intrigues  of  Austria. 
She  was  in  Ireland,  and  it  was  as  well  not  to  refer  to 
the  Jesuits. 

219 


Lola  Montez 

At  the  new  year  she  crossed  over  to  England,  begin- 
ning her  tour  at  Manchester.  We  hear  of  her  at  Sheffield, 
Nottingham,  Leicester,  Birmingham,  Wolverhampton, 
Leamington,  Worcester,  Bristol,  and  Bath.  She  drew 
crowded  houses,  though  everywhere  she  went  she  had 
to  contend  with  a  strong  counter-attraction  in  the 
person  of  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  the  celebrated  showman, 
who  was  also  touring  England.  Of  course,  she  dis- 
appointed expectation.  The  public  wanted  to  see  the 
dashing,  dazzling  dare-devil  of  other  days,  not  a  rather 
sad  woman,  slightly  tinged  with  Yankee  religiosity. 
She  arrived  at  last  in  London,  where  she  lectured  at 
St.  James's  Hall.  Two  or  three  of  the  writer's  friends 
faintly  recollect  having  seen  her  on  this  occasion.  For 
the  impression  she  produced  on  her  audience,  I  prefer, 
however,  to  rely  on  the  notice  in  the  Era,  under  date 
loth  April  1859. 

"  Following  closely  upon  the  heels  of  Mr.  Barnum, 
Madame  Lola  Montez,  parenthetically  putting  forth  her 
more  aristocratic  title  of  Countess  of  Landsfeld,  com- 
menced on  Thursday  evening  [7th  April  1859]  the  first 
of  a  series  of  lectures  at  the  St.  James's  Hall.  Revisiting 
this  country,  she  has  first  felt  her  footing  as  a  lecturer 
in  the  provinces,  and  now  venturing  upon  the  ordeal 
of  a  London  audience,  she  has  boldly  added  her  name 
to  the  Ust  of  those  who  have  sought,  single-handed, 
to  engage  their  attention.  If  any  amongst  the  full 
and  fashionable  auditory  that  attended  her  first 
appearance  fancied,  with  a  Uvely  recollection  of  certain 
scandalous  chronicles,  that  they  were  about  to  behold 
a  formidable-looking  woman  of  Amazonian  audacity, 
and  palpably  strong-wristed,  as  well  as  strong-minded, 
their  disappointment  must  have  been  grievous  ;  greater 
if  they  anticipated  the  legendary  bull-dog  at  her  side 
and  the  traditionary  pistols  in  her  girdle  and  the  horse- 

220 


A  Last  Visit  to  England 

whip  in  her  hand.  The  Lola  Montez  who  made  a  grace- 
ful and  impressive  obeisance  to  those  who  gave  her  on 
Thursday  night  so  cordial  and  encouraging  a  reception, 
appeared  simply  as  a  good-looking  lady  in  the  bloom 
of  womanhood,  attired  in  a  plain  black  dress,  with 
easy,  unrestrained  manners,  and  speaking  earnestly 
and  distinctly,  with  the  slightest  touch  of  a  foreign 
accent  that  might  belong  to  any  language  from  Irish 
to  Bavarian.  The  subject  selected  by  the  fair  lecturer 
was  the  distinction  between  the  English  and  the 
American  character,  which  she  proceeded  to  demonstrate 
by  a  discourse  that  must  be  pronounced  decidedly 
didactic  rather  than  diverting.  With  most  of  the 
characteristics  mentioned  as  illustrative  of  each  country, 
we  presume  the  majority  of  her  hearers  had,  in  the 
course  of  their  reading  or  experience,  become  already 
acquainted.  That  America  looked  to  the  future  for 
her  greatness,  England  to  the  past ;  that  Americans 
believed  in  the  spittoon  as  a  valuable  institution,  and 
speed  as  the  great  condition  of  success  in  all  things — 
it  hardly  needed  a  Lola  Montez  to  come  from  the  West 
to  inform  us.  The  excitable  temperament  of  our 
transatlantic  brethren,  their  readiness  to  raise  idols 
and  to  demolish  them,  the  great  liberty  of  opinion  that 
there  prevails,  and  the  little  toleration  of  its  expression, 
were  the  leading  points  of  a  lecture  lasting  an  hour 
and  a  quarter,  blended  with  a  compliment  to  the  Amer- 
ican ladies,  a  tributary  acknowledgment  of  the  virtues 
of  our  own,  and  a  digression  into  American  politics 
as  connected  with  everything.  There  was  no  attempt 
to  weave  into  the  subject  a  few  threads  of  personal 
interest,  no  mention  of  any  incident  that  had  happened 
to  her,  and  no  anecdote  that  might  have  enlivened 
the  dissertation  in  any  way.  The  lecture  might  have 
been  a  newspaper  article,  the  first  chapter  of  a  book 
of  travels,  or  the  speech  of  a  long-winded  American 
ambassador  at  a  Mansion  House  dinner.  All  was  exceed- 
ingly decorous  and  diplomatic,  slightly  gilded  here  and 
there  with  those  commonplace  laudations  that  stir  a 

221 


Lola  Montez 

British  public  into  the  utterance  of  patriotic  plaudits. 
A  more  inoffensive  entertainment  could  hardly  be 
imagined  ;  and  when  the  six  sections  into  which  the 
lady  had  divided  her  discourse  were  exhausted,  and  her 
final  bow  elicited  a  renewal  of  the  applause  that  had 
accompanied  her  entrance,  the  impression  on  the  de- 
parting visitors  must  have  been  that  of  having  spent 
an  hour  in  company  with  a  well-informed  lady  who 
had  gone  to  America,  had  seen  much  to  admire  there, 
and,  coming  back,  had  had  over  the  tea-table  the  talk 
of  the  evening  to  herself.  Whatever  the  future 
disquisitions  of  the  Countess  of  Landsfeld  may  be,  there 
is  little  doubt  that  many  will  go  to  hear  them  for  the 
sake  of  the  peculiar  celebrity  of  the  lecturer." 


222 


XXXIII 


THE    MAGDALEN 


That  celebrity  was  very  far  from  corresponding  to 
the  present  dispositions  and  aspirations  of  the  ex- 
adventuress.  While  travelling  from  town  to  tov/n  the 
transmutation  of  her  emotions  into  religious  fervour 
had  gone  on  unchecked.  The  love  she  had  once  borne 
to  men  found  an  object  in  the  unseen  God  ;  the  wonder- 
ing disgust  excited  by  the  memory  of  her  relations 
with  men  she  had  learned  to  dislike  became  translated 
into  repentance  for  sin  ;  latent  ambition  now  leaped 
up  at  the  thought  of  a  crown  to  be  won  beyond  the 
tomb.  Christianity  offers  us  new  worlds  for  old, 
promises  new  joys  to  chose  who  have  lost  all  zest  for 
the  old,  proposes  an  objective  which  may  be  pursued 
to  the  brink  of  the  grave,  and  assures  every  human 
being  of  the  tremendous  importance  of  his  own  destiny. 
For  these  reasons  religion  has  always  appealed  with 
especial  force  to  women  in  Lola's  situation,  who, 
moreover,  being  usually  deficient  in  the  logical  and 
critical  faculties,  are  the  less  able  to  resist  its  appeal 
to  their  emotions. 

During  her  stay  in  England  Lola  kept  a  spiritual 
diary,  some  fragments  of  which  have  been  preserved 
to  us.     It  is  certainly  illustrative  of  the  depth  and 

223 


Lola  Montez 

earnestness  of  her  religious  convictions,  and  it  would  be 
a  cold-blooded  act  to  analyse  and  to  dissect  the  state 
of  mind  it  portrays.  The  sentiments  are  often  morbid 
in  the  extreme,  as  might  be  expected  from  one  whose 
ideas  of  religion  were  derived  from  teachers  of  the 
extreme  evangelical  school.     She  writes : — 

"  Oh,  I  dare  not  think  of  the  past  !  What  have  I 
not  been  ?  I  lived  only  for  my  own  passions  ;  and  what 
is  there  of  good  even  in  the  best  natural  human  being  ? 
What  would  I  not  give  to  have  my  terrible  and  fearful 
experiences  given  as  an  awful  warning  to  such  natures 
as  my  own  !  And  yet  when  people  generally,  even 
my  mother,  turned  their  backs  upon  me  and  knew  me 
not,  Jesus  knocked  at  my  heart's  door.  What  has  the 
world  ever  given  to  me  ?  (And  I  have  known  all  that 
the  world  has  to  give — all!)  Nothing  but  shadows, 
leaving  a  wound  on  the  heart  hard  to  heal — a  dark 
discontent. 

"  Now  I  can  more  calmly  look  back  on  the  stormy 
passages  of  my  life — an  eventful  life  indeed — and  see 
onward  and  upward  a  haven  of  rest  to  the  soul.  I 
used  once  to  think  that  heaven  was  a  place  somewhere 
beyond  the  clouds,  and  that  those  who  got  there  were 
as  if  they  had  not  been  themselves  on  the  earth.  But 
life  has  been  given  to  me  to  know  that  heaven  begins 
in  the  human  soul,  through  the  grace  of  God  and  His 
holy  word.  Those  who  cannot  feel  somewhat  of  heaven 
here  will  never  find  it  hereafter." 

On  another  page  we  find  : — 

"  To-morrow  (the  Lord's  day)  is  the  day  of  peace 
and  happiness.  Once  it  seemed  to  me  anything  but 
a  happy  day,  but  now  all  is  wonderfully  changed  in 
my  heart.  .  .  .  What  I  loved  before  now  I  hate.  Oh  ! 
that  in  this  coming  week,  I  may,  through  Thee,  overcome 
all  sinful  thoughts,  and  love  every  one. 

224 


The  Magdalen 

"  Thankful  I  am  that  I  have  been  permitted  to  pray 
this  day.  Three  years  ago  I  cried  aloud  in  agony  to 
be  taken  ;  and  yet  the  great.  All- Wise  Creator  has 
spared  me,  in  His  mercy,  to  repent.  All  that  has 
passed  in  New  York  has  not  been  mere  illusion.  I 
feel  it  is  true.  The  Lord  heard  my  feeble  cry  to  Him, 
and  I  felt  what  no  human  tongue  can  describe.  The 
world  cast  me  out,  and  He,  the  pure,  the  loving,  took 
me  in, 

"  To-morrow  is  Sunday,  and  I  shall  go  to  the  poor 
little  humble  chapel,  and  there  will  I  mingle  my  prayers 
with  the  fervent  pastor,  and  with  the  good  and  true. 
There  is  no  pomp  or  ceremony  among  these.  All  is 
simple.  No  fine  dresses,  no  worldly  display,  but  the 
honest  Methodist  breathes  forth  a  sincere  prayer, 
and  I  feel  much  unity  of  soul.  What  would  I  give 
to  have  daily  fellowship  with  these  good  people  !  to 
teach  in  the  school,  to  visit  the  old,  the  sick,  the  poor. 
But  that  will  be  in  the  Lord's  good  time,  when  self  is 
burned  out  of  me  completely," 

The  following  entry  is  dated  Saturday,  in  London  : — 

"  Since  last  week  my  existence  is  entirely  changed. 
When  last  I  wrote  I  was  calm  and  peaceful — away  from 
the  world.  Now,  I  must  again  go  forth.  It  was  cruel, 
indeed,  of  Mr,  E.  to  have  said  what  he  did  ;  but  I  am 
afraid  I  was  too  hasty  also.  Ought  I  to  have  resented 
what  was  said  ?  No,  I  ought  to  have  said  not  a  word. 
The  world  would  applaud  me  ;  but,  oh  !  my  heart 
tells  me  that  for  His  sake  I  ought  to  bear  the  vilest 
reproaches,   even  unmerited. 

"  Good-bye,  all  the  calm  hours  of  reflection  and  repose 
I  enjoyed  at  Derby  !  My  calm  days  at  the  cottage 
are  gone — gone.  But  I  will  not  look  back.  Onward  ! 
must  be  the  cry  of  my  heart, 

"  Lord,  have  mercy  on  the  weary  wanderer,  and 
grant  me  all  I  beseech  of  Thee  !  Oh,  give  me  a  meek 
and  lowly  heart  !  " 

225 

Q 


Lola  Montez 

It  seems  from  this  final  extract  that  some  painful 
circumstance  compelled  the  writer  against  her  will  to 
go  on  her  travels  again.  The  diary  affords  proof  that 
she  was  in  England  as  late  as  September  1859  '>  ^^d 
the  following  year,  she  was  again  at  New  York. 


226 


XXXIV 


LAST  SCENE  OF  ALL 


Lola  the  saint  was  no  more  provident  than  Lola  the 
sinner.  She  dissipated  the  large  sums  she  had  amassed 
in  her  English  tour  in  the  space  of  a  few  months,  and 
with  a  mind  tormented  by  remorse  and  religious  scruples, 
could  turn  her  thoughts  to  no  system  of  livelihood. 
Threatened  with  poverty,  and  in  a  state  of  deep  dejec- 
tion, she  was  one  day  met  in  the  streets  of  New  York 
by  a  lady  and  gentleman  who  stopped  and  considered 
her  attentively.  Finally,  evidently  at  the  man's 
suggestion,  his  wife  stepped  up  to  Lola,  and  recalled 
herself  to  her  recollection  as  an  old  school-fellow  and 
playmate  of  her  Montrose  days.  She  was  now  the 
wife  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  a  florist  of  some  standing.  Lola 
was  deeply  affected  by  this  meeting.  This  voice  from 
her  childhood  supplied  the  human  note  in  her  present 
state  of  spiritual  desolation  and  exaltation.  The 
friendship  begun  thirty  years  before  in  far-off  Scotland 
was  renewed.  To  the  penitent  Lola  Mrs.  Buchanan's 
recognition  of  her  seemed  an  act  of  amazing  kindness 
and  condescension.  But  the  florist  and  his  wife  were 
not  only  religious  but  good  people.  They  made  pro- 
vision for  the  ex-adventuress,  perhaps  by  a  judicious 
investment  of  the  little  money  that  remained  to  her ; 

227 


Lola  Montez 

and  Mrs.  Buchanan  sympathising  warmly  with  her 
old  friend's  spiritual  regeneration,  was  able  to  calm 
her  doubts  and  scruples,  and  to  divert  her  piety  into 
practical  channels. 

The  wayward,  troubled  soul  of  Lola  Montez  at  last 
tasted  peace — thanks,  perhaps,  as  much  to  the  con- 
solations of  true  friendship  as  to  those  of  religion.  She 
abandoned  the  Methodist  connection,  and  embiaced 
the  possibly  less  gloomy  tenets  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  America.  She  passed  much  of  her  time  in  deep 
retirement,  reading  and  studying  the  Bible.  One  who 
knew  her  at  this  time  says  that  her  bearing  was  calm, 
graceful,  and  modest ;  of  her  beauty  there  remained 
no  trace  except  her  deep,  lustrous  Spanish  eyes.  A 
conviction  that  she  was  soon  to  die  of  consumption 
possessed  her,  and  she  spent  the  rest  of  the  year  i860 
in  preparation  for  her  end. 


"  So  far  as  outward  actions  could  show,"  says  her 
spiritual  adviser.  Dr.  F.  L.  Hawks,  "  with  her  '  old 
things  had  passed  away,  and  all  things  had  become  new.' 
With  a  heart  full  of  sympathy  for  the  poor  outcasts 
of  her  own.  sex,  she  devoted  the  last  few  months  of 
her  life  to  visiting  them  at  the  Magdalen  Asylum, 
near  New  York,  warning  them  and  instructing  them 
with  a  spirit  which  yearned  over  them,  that  they,  too, 
might  be  brought  into  the  fold.  She  strove  to  impress 
upon  them  not  only  the  awful  guilt  of  breaking  the 
divine  law,  but  the  inevitable  earthly  sorrow  which 
those  who  persisted  with  thoughtless  desperation  in 
sinful  courses  were  treasuring  up  for  themselves.  Her 
effort  was  thus  to  redeem  the  time  as  far  as  she  could ; 
and  the  result  of  her  labours  can  only  be  known  on 
that  day  when  she  will  meet  her  erring  sisters  at  the 
impartial  tribunal  of  the  Eternal  Judge." 

228 


Last  Scene  of  All 

Lola's  premonition  was  verified.  In  December  i860 
she  was  suddenly  struck  down — not  by  consumption, 
but  by  partial  paralysis.  She  was  conveyed  to  the 
Asteria  Sanatorium,  where  Mrs.  Buchanan  took  charge 
of  her.  She  lingered  in  great  pain,  patiently  borne, 
for  several  weeks,  and  it  was  seen  that  there  was  no 
hope  of  her  recovery.  Dr.  Hawks  visited  her  frequently. 
To  him,  her  chosen  confidant  at  this  final  stage  of  her 
chequered  life,  and  the  most  fitted  to  sympathise  with 
the  ideas  that  then  dominated  her,  may  be  left  the 
description  of  her  last  hours. 

"  In  the  course  of  a  long  experience  as  a  Christian 
minister,  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  deeper  penitence 
and  humility,  more  real  contrition  of  soul  and  more 
of  bitter  self-reproach  than  in  this  poor  woman.  Anxious 
to  probe  her  heart  to  the  bottom,  I  questioned  her 
in  various  forms  ;  spoke  as  plainly  as  I  could  of  the 
qualities  of  a  genuine  repentance  ;  set  forth  the  necessity 
of  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  really  to  convert 
from  sin  to  hoHness,  and  presented  Christ  as  all  in  all 
— the  only  Saviour.  For  myself  I  am  quite  satisfied 
that  God  the  Holy  Ghost  had  renewed  her  sinful  soul 
into  holiness. 

"  There  was  no  confident  boasting,  however.  I 
never  saw  a  more  humble  penitent.  When  I  prayed 
with  her,  nothing  could  exceed  the  fervour  of  her  de- 
votion ;  and  never  had  I  a  more  watchful  and  attentive 
hearer  than  when  I  read  the  Scriptures.  She  read  the 
blessed  volume  for  herself,  also,  when  I  was  not  present. 
It  was  always  within  reach  of  her  hand  ;  and,  on  my 
first  visit,  when  I  took  up  her  Bible  from  the  table, 
the  fact  struck  me  that  it  opened  of  its  own  accord 
to  the  touching  story  of  Christ's  forgiveness  of  the 
Magdalene  in  the  house  of  Simon. 

"  If  ever  a  repentant  soul  loathed  past  sin,  I  believe 
hers  did. 

229 


Lola  Montez 

"  She  was  a  woman  of  genius,  highly  accompHshed, 
of  more  than  visual  attainments,  and  of  great  natural 
eloquence.  I  listened  to  her  sometimes  with  admiration, 
as  with  the  tears  streaming  from  her  eyes,  her  right  hand 
uplifted,  and  her  regularly  expressive  features  (her  keen 
blue  eyes  especially)  speaking  almost  as  plainly  as  her 
tongue,  she  would  dwell  upon  Christ,  and  the  almost 
incredible  truth  that  He  could  show  mercy  to  such  a 
vile  sinner  as  she  felt  herself  to  have  been,  until  I 
would  feel  that  she  was  the  preacher  and  not  I. 

"  When  she  was  near  her  end,  and  could  not  speak, 
I  asked  her  to  let  me  know  by  a  sign  whether  her  soul 
was  at  peace,  and  she  still  felt  that  Christ  would  save 
her.  She  fixed  her  eyes  on  mine,  and  nodded  her  head 
affirmatively." 

Thus,  on  17th  January  1861,  in  the  odour  of  sanctity, 
died  Lola  Montez,  Countess  of  Landsfeld,  Baroness 
Rosenthal,  Canoness  of  the  Order  of  St.  Theresa, 
sometime  ruler  of  the  kingdom  of  Bavaria,  in  the  forty- 
third  year  of  her  age.  She,  whose  fame  had  filled 
three  continents,  was  committed  to  the  custody  of 
Mother  Earth  in  Greenwood  Cemetery,  two  days  later, 
with  the  rites  and  ceremonial  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
Her  grave  was  marked  by  a  tablet,  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion :  "  Mrs.  EHza  Gilbert,  born  1818,  died  1861." 
The  men  who  had  risked  crowns  and  fortune  for  her 
love  would  have  hardly  recognised  her  in  her  last  part 
or  under  her  last  homely  description. 


At  the  bar  of  God  Lola  Montez  pleaded  guilty.  I, 
as  her  advocate  in  the  court  of  Humanity,  may  enter 
another  plea. 

For  half  a  century  the  world  has  taken  this  woman 

230 


Last  Scene  of  All 

at  her  own  last  valuation,  and  dismissed  her  as  a  criminal 
and  a  sinner.  The  orthodox  Christian  reproaches 
her  with  unchastity,  exaggerating,  as  is  his  wont,  the 
gravity  of  this  particular  transgression  of  his  code. 
He  would  have  had  her  waste  her  glorious  beauty, 
made  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  men,  and  refuse  the 
role  of  woman  which  nature  had  assigned  her — because, 
forsooth  !  a  petty  Enghsh  tribunal  would  not  set  her 
free  from  a  tie  it  should  never  have  allowed  her  to 
contract.  The  law  was  made  for  man  ;  the  claims  and 
instincts  of  womanhood  must  override  the  decrees  of  any 
Consistory  Court.  Lola  Montez  was  pre-eminently 
and  essentially  a  woman — specially  fitted  and 
charged,  therefore,  to  bring  the  great  happiness  of  love 
to  men.  This  which  was  her  glory  the  sexless  moralist 
makes  her  reproach.  For  him  the  perfect  woman  is 
the  most  unhuman  ;  he  admires  the  wooUess  sheep  and 
the  scentless  flower. 

Hers  was  a  capacity  for  immense  passion,  happiness, 
and  power.  She  longed  not  only  to  charm  men  but 
to  rule  them.  By  the  happiness  she  procured  them, 
she  enslaved  them.  She  exploited  their  passions,  it 
will  be  said  ;  and  since  when  have  we  ceased  to  exploit 
the  weakness  of  woman  ?  In  the  pursuit  of  power  we 
use  the  instruments  easiest  to  our  hands,  we  attack 
our  opponents'  most  vulnerable  points.  This  Lola  did  ; 
this  did  every  strong  man  of  whom  history  has  any 
record.  Her  qualities  of  mind,  as  evinced  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  Bavaria,  were  of  a  high  order,  and  in  a  man 
would  have  commanded  success  ;  but  men  were  dazzled 
by  her  beauty,  and  cried  out  to  be  influenced  by  that 
alone.  We  esteem  in  our  own  sex  the  faculties  by  which 
we  are  helped,  led,  and  ruled  ;   in  the  other,  we  prate 

231 


Lola  Montez 

of  chastity,  and  value  only  that  which  ministers  to  our 
vanity,  comfort,  and  sensuality.  Women  must  be 
human  in  just  so  far  as  may  conform  to  our  individual 
needs.  When  we  prize  intellectual  worth  in  women 
as  highly  as  physical  beauty,  it  will  be  time  to  protest 
against  the  methods  of  Lola  Montez. 

She  subdued  men  by  their  passions,  but  she  ruled 
them  well.  She  challenged  history  to  adduce  a  case 
where  a  woman  had  wielded  so  much  power  so  wisely 
and  so  disinterestedly.  She  was  no  Pompadour  or 
Du  Barry  to  whom  the  scurrile  De  Mirecourt  compared 
her.  Guilty  at  moments,  as  we  all  are,  of  derelictions 
from  her  principles,  she  was  throughout  life  a  lover  of 
liberty  in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  When  Europe 
lay  under  the  feet  of  Metternich  and  the  Ultramon- 
tanes,  she,  almost  single-handed,  struck  a  blow  for 
freedom.  The  wiles  of  the  cleverest  intriguers  in 
Europe  proved  powerless  against  her  bold  policy. 
At  scheming  she  was  no  adept,  trusting,  as  the  strong 
will  ever  trust,  to  her  force  and  personality  to  defeat 
the  manoeuvres  of  her  foes.  Had  Louis  of  Bavaria 
not  bowed  before  the  storm,  she  and  his  kingdom  would 
have  played  a  great  part  in  European  history.  As  it 
was,  to  her  intervention  Switzerland  partly  owes  the 
freedom  of  her  institutions  from  clerical  control.  The 
terms  in  which  she  speaks  of  that  country  and  of  the 
United  States,  though  purposely  exaggerated,  display 
her  profound  sympathy  with  the  principles  of  democracy. 
Setting  aside  the  qualities  of  the  woman,  let  us  grate- 
fully acknowledge  that  Lola  Montez,  on  a  small  stage 
and  for  a  brief  period,  proved  heiself  an  able  and 
humane  administratrix  and  a  staunch  friend  to  liberty. 
In  her  we  have  another  of  the  many  instances  of  capacity 

232 


Last  Scene  of  All 

for  government   as  the  concomitant   of  an  intensely 
feminine  temperament. 

She  was  vaUant  as  an  antique  worthy.  She  was  never 
at  an  end  of  her  resources,  never  unnerved  by  catas- 
trophe. Disaster  after  disaster  left  unexhausted  her 
marvellous  powers  of  recuperation.  She  could  adapt 
herself  to  all  men  and  all  circumstances.  She  was  at 
home  in  the  courts  of  emperors  and  kings,  in  the  salons 
of  the  learned,  in  the  backwoods  of  California,  in  the 
mining  camps  of  Australia,  in  the  conventicles  of  New 
York.  To  the  life  of  a  recluse  in  a  primeval  wilderness 
she  adapted  herself  as  readily  as  to  a  London  drawing- 
room.  She  was  eloquent  in  many  tongues,  witty  and 
light-hearted,  adding  to  the  world's  gaiety.  She  was 
kindly  and  compassionate,  cherishing  dogs,  and  all 
four-footed  things,  visiting  the  sick  and  the  afflicted, 
saying  a  kind  word  for  the  despised  coolies  of  India. 
Her  money  she  showered  with  reckless  generosity  on 
all  who  stood  in  need.  Her  excellences  were  her  own  ; 
her  faults  lie  at  the  door  of  society. 


233 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

The  files  of  the  following  newspapers  :  Times,  Morning  Herald,  Era, 
Illustrated  London  News  ;  Le  Constitutionnel,  Le  Figaro,  Le  Journal 
des  Debats  ;  New  York  Tribune  ;  Sydney  Morning  Herald,  Melbourne 
Argus. 

"Autobiography  and  Lectures  of  Lola  Montez"  [hy  C.  Chauncy 
Burr);  "An  Englishman  in  Paris"  (Vandam)  ;  "  Letters  from  Up- 
Country  "  (Hon.  Emily  Eden)  ;  "  You  have  heard  of  them  ?  "  (Q), ', 
"  History  of  the  44th  Regiment  "  [Carter)  ;  "  Revelations  of  Russia  " 
(Henningsen)  ;  "Life  and  Adventures"  (George  A.  Sala)  ;  "Bygone 
Years  "  (Leveson  Gower)  ;  "  Eraser's  MagaztJie"  1848  ;  "  Players 
of  a  Century  "  (Phelps)  ;  "  New  York  Stage  "  (Ireland)  ;  "  Story  of 
a  Penitent "  (Hawks)  ;    "  Dictionary  of  National  Biography." 

"  Les  Contemporains  "  (De  Mirecourt)  ;  "  Mes  Souvenirs  "  (Claudin); 
"  Souvenirs  "  (Theodore  de  Banville)  ;  "  Histoire  de  I'Art  Dramatique 
en  France"  (Theophile  Cautier)  ;    "  Diciionnaire  Larousse." 

"  Ein  Vormarzliches  Tanzidyll  "  (Fuchs)  ;  "  Ludwig  Augustus  " 
(Sepp)  ;  "  Ludwig  I."  ( Heigel)  ;  "  Unter  den  vier  ersten  Konigen 
Bayerns  "  (Kobell)  ;  "  Lola  Montez  und  die  Jesuiten  "  (Erdmann)  ; 
"  Bayern's  Erhebung  "  ;  "  Franz  Liszt  als  Mensch  ung  Kiinstler  " 
(Ramann)  ;     Metternich's   Memoirs  ;     Bernstorff  Papers  ;     etc.,   etc. 


University  of 
Connecticut 

Libraries 


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